Stretching Expansively
by Shukura
Summary: ON HOLD - Keiran didn't know that toast was such a big part of a Paladin's life. Toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner some days. And what's that you say? The Guildleader's son is my roommate? And his father hates me for no reason? Wow talk about drama.
1. Part 1: The Guild of Crusaders

Review please! And questions are more than welcome. :D

Rating for language, sexual themes and violence in later chapters.

All characters belong to their respective owners, and we'd like to keep them, thanks.

* * *

Stretching expansively, Keiran sleepily observed his new bedroom for the first time since he had arrived last night. He had always lived in Prontera, so the grey stone architecture wasn't new for him. The stained glass windows on the other hand, were. There were two of them in this room, both spread from the high ceiling right to the floor and depicted some important biblical scenes which Keiran figured he was bound to learn about on the road to becoming a Crusader.

The room was rectangle in shape, with two single beds against one of the short sides, and a large chest of drawers in one of the far corners, with a wardrobe next to it, the door of which was open, revealing two simple brown tunics and a pile of leather guards. These, Keiran suspected, must be our new swordsmen outfits.

He dragged himself out of bed reluctantly, and glancing at his sleeping roommate, headed over to investigate.

They were indeed the swordie clothes, and as Keiran held them up, something silvery caught his eye. He glanced down into the bottom of the wardrobe where a small silver crucifix was laying.

"Hm..." he scooped it up and examined it thoughtfully, pulling his own crucifix out from his novice tunic. Upon comparing them, he discovered... not much. They were basically the same - just simple silver crosses on simple silver chains.

"Oh well. Just means I have a spare..."

A noise behind him made him turn. His roommate was stirring, muttering something into his pillow.

Keiran raised an eyebrow at him before turning his attention back to his new clothes. And then decided he might as well put them on. Which he did, muttering all the while that brown really wasn't his colour.

Just as he was fastening his new crucifix around his neck, there were muffled footsteps behind him.

"Morning!" Keiran said cheerfully. Once he got out of bed in the morning he usually became energetic quite quickly. After all, once up, what's the point in wandering around half asleep? You might break something, or someone.

"Mm..." his roommate murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes tiredly as he dragged his feet across the floor.

Keiran observed him thoughtfully. He had bright blue hair with bright blue eyes to match. They seemed rather familiar to Keiran and he wondered why, and he couldn't help but feel he knew this guy from somewhere else... But at the same time could swear he'd never met him.

He blinked sleepily, "do I have something on my face?"

"No? No. Sorry." Keiran raked a hand through his chin length hair, pushing one side back while the other swung forward to hang in front of his emerald eyes. And then it hit him - "Wait a second... aren't you Darius? The guildmaster's son?"

Darius blinked, "yeah I am. And you are?"

Keiran was startled to see that when Darius said this, he showed no signs of pride, arrogance, or anything else along those lines. If anything, he seemed slightly sad. Maybe he didn't want to be known as 'the guildmaster's son' Keiran thought, making a mental note not to talk about the guildmaster too much.

"Keiran. Keiran le Lievre to be precise."

At that moment there was a loud banging at the door, causing both boys to jump.

"WAKE UP WAKE UP!! EVERYONE UP!! BREAKFAST IN TEN MINUTES!!" someone bellowed before clanking on to the next room and repeating himself. A couple of seconds later there was even more noise as something that sounded awfully like a heavily armoured Paladin banging pots and pans together ran up and down the corridor screaming things like 'TOAST!! GET YA TOAST!!' and 'CEREEEEEEEAL!!!!!'

Keiran and Darius exchanged a look that said something like 'I hope they don't do this every morning'. Or perhaps 'are these people sane?'

"Mind if I go now?" Keiran asked, rather loudly to make himself heard over the racket outside.

Darius shook his head, "I have to get changed anyway."

"That's what I thought. I'll save you a seat."

Slipping out into the hallway, he looked both ways for rampaging crusaders, and upon seeing them down the other end of the hall, terrorizing some poor swordsman who had stepped out at the wrong time, headed in the opposite direction, which was okay because that was the way he was supposed to be going.

The headquarters for the Guild of Crusaders was a castle. A very large one. Complete with moat and drawbridge (which was permanently down).

The Paladins, being the highest ranking below the guildmaster himself, got the largest rooms higher up in the castle, on the fourth floor, with the best views of the city. Although, they weren't content with this and continuously complained that it takes too long to walk down the stairs every morning in full armour. The smarter ones pointed out that you didn't actually need to wear the armour all the time, which shut the not-so-intelligent ones up.

The guildmaster, of course, had the biggest room of all on the fifth floor, and he didn't complain, since he had chosen it in the first place. Also on this floor were the master's second in command (although they had smaller rooms). They consisted of one high level male Paladin and one high level female Paladin.

On the third floor were the Crusaders. They had shared dorms just like the swordsmen did, but they got the extra bonus of bigger rooms with bigger beds. Also the different genders weren't separated so much, allowing some mingling. The male Crusaders thought this was totally awesome, and the women quickly got into the habit of bolting the doors at night.

Next floor down were the swordsmen. The girls at the west end, and the boys at the east, separated by the bathrooms and the wide stone staircase spiralling up and down. Each swordsman or woman had to share their dorm with one other swordie. This wasn't usually found to be a problem, and if it was, the guildmaster was quite willing to change the recruits around so they could be with a friend rather than an enemy. After all, he didn't want his little swordies fighting and going around being miserable, did he just?

The first floor was where the indoor classrooms were. These were used for things like Bible studies, research, and for the teaching of any skills that didn't involve waving swords around and just generally being rowdy. This story also contained what could be called a library. It was a large room that someone had gone and dumped a load of couches and books in. And someone else had had to organize it so it was actually possible to find anything. The offices of important guild members were on this floor too.

On the ground floor were things like the eating hall, cloak rooms, the meeting rooms (although most of the time they just held the meetings in the eating hall), and the chapel. The Crusader's chapel was a small thing, since they didn't usually use it. On Sunday mornings they all trekked down to Prontera's main church for the service.

The whole building was in a U shape, surrounding an expansive courtyard where the more active lessons were held. A little way off were the stables where the peco pecos lived, and beyond that was fields. Lots of wide open fields where the new swordsmen could train freely in their spare time.

Anyway.

As Keiran strolled down the white stone stairs, his hand trailing along the banister, he considered his future. These days it was possible to choose your own job, rather than have your parents choose it based on what they did and he was happy with his decision to become a Crusader. It seemed like the only suitable option for someone who was as pious (most of the time) as he but enjoyed fighting just as much as serving God. So why not learn how to fight at the same time as still upholding his religion?

He had considered becoming a Priest, but the prospect of not being able to fight back if under attack turned him off the idea almost at once. The only other Holy job available was to become a Monk. They were the brother class of the Priests, but instead of just standing around healing people, they actually got into the action, using their fists as their main weapon. This idea appealed to Keiran, until he saw a male Champion at church one day, when he was severely put off by the monk's puffy robe.

Oh well, Keiran thought to himself, at least this way I get to use swords. He glanced up as a Paladin clanked past waving a rather soggy looking piece of toast in the air, and frowned._ Not looking forward to all that armour though._ Indeed, it did look very heavy, and very awkward, but the long silver cape trailing along on the ground behind him was AWESOME. This particular Paladin had evil ears poking out from his deep brown hair, and was wearing a dark purple deviruchi hat on his head. An interesting headgear combination, Keiran thought to himself, but effective no less.

The Paladin seemed to notice that someone was staring at him and glanced over his very, _very_ broad shoulder, enhanced greatly by the huge metal plates. "If you don't hurry up all the toast will be gone!" he said cheerfully, waving his sorry excuse for toast in Keiran's face, before galloping off down the stairs.

Keiran stood frozen in place. "What's with the toast?" he wondered aloud.

Chuckling, a Crusader clapped him on the back, almost sending him rolling down the stairs. "Oops sorry. You'll get used to it after a while. It's a Paladin thing. They're all obsessed with toast."

"Right..."

"But seriously though, if you don't hurry, you really won't get any." He continued on his merry way, humming thoughtfully.

Waking from his daze, Keiran dashed after the blonde haired Crusader, "are all Crusaders and Paladins so friendly?"

Grinning widely, the Crusader shrugged, "You think we're friendly?" he looked thoughtful for a moment, before grinning again. "I guess we are, aren't we? There's a few that aren't. Like... the people who didn't really want to be here in the first place. But yeah, mostly we're a pretty sociable group."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and turned right, heading towards the source of an awful lot of noise.

"My name's Grobyc, by the way."

At Keiran's startled expression, Grobyc just smiled wider, "yeah. Odd, huh? Just call me Groby or something. Most people do." He held out a massive gloved hand which Keiran took gingerly.

Just as he had expected, Grobyc had a very firm handshake, as is fitting for a Crusader.

"I'm Keiran," he said, not sure if his name was actually required or not.

"Pleasure to meet you Keiran!" he boomed over the roar of the eating hall, "I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. I'm supposed to be helping with spear mastery this year I think." He itched his ear thoughtfully, "You interested in spears?"

Keiran shrugged, "don't know yet."

Grinning, Groby pushed open the double doors into the hall, and was instantly greeted with many cries of "GROBY!! OVER HERE!!" and was whisked away by a female Crusader with long blue hair.

Keiran hovered by the door uncertainly, taking in the proceedings. The room smelt strongly of toast, and lo and behold, there it was; giant mountains of the toasted golden bread piled at even intervals all along the three long parallel tables.

Finally he spotted a few of his fellow swordsmen and headed over to them, ducking occasionally to avoid flying toast. They were sitting down one end of the furthest away table, all looking very startled by the amount of noise and mess the rest of the guild was making.

Sliding into the gap between a swordswoman with a very long black plait and a silver haired swordsman who was buttering a bit of toast nervously, he stared around the room in wonder. It was huge. But he supposed it would have to be to make room for all these broad shouldered men and the only slightly less broad shouldered ladies. There were shields and swords hung all over the walls and suits of armour along the edges of the room.

"Did you know that Crusader?" said the boy with the toast, passing a plate to him.

Keiran accepted it gratefully, helping himself to a couple of slices of the oh-so-popular toast, "no, not really. He just started talking to me."

"Hm. They seem to be like that." the boy said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "These things are really a pain."

Pausing in the act of buttering his toast, Keiran looked at him properly. The boy was scrawny, looked half-asleep, and kept dropping his knife. But Keiran wasn't one to judge people so fast, and decided that hey! he had to start making friends sometime, so why not start now?

"How come you wear them then?"

"Father made me get them. My eyesight's not so great and he didn't think it'd be a good idea for me to be waving swords around if I'm half-blind," he sighed, staring down at his plate, "I suppose he's right, though, as usual."

Keiran took pity on him, "hey hey! Come on, dude. They're not so bad. And they're like, in fashion at the moment aren't they?"

The swordsman blinked at him, "they are?"

"Yeah! And hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'm supposed to have glasses too."

"You don't wear them?"

"Naah. I don't really need them."

"I'm confused." The swordsman frowned.

"Hm... my left eye doesn't work as well as it should and so I'm supposed to have glasses for reading and shit but I tend to end up breaking them and stuff so I gave up."

"Oh."

They sat in relative silence for a bit, munching on their toast.

Keiran kept glancing at the door, remembering what he had said to Darius._ The table's filling up fast_... he thought to himself, _if he doesn't hurry he's not gonna fit._

But then there he was, standing in the doorway, scanning the tables. Just as Keiran was about to start shouting at him, Darius spotted him and quickly made his way around the tables.

"Um. D'you think you could shuffle over a little...- wait. What's your name anyway?" Keiran asked the boy.

"Huh? Oh. Of course." He did so, "I'm Arthur."

"I'm Keiran. And thanks."

Arthur returned to his toast, hardly even looking up as Darius slid in between Keiran and the girl.

"Toast?" Keiran gestured at the pile which was half the size it had been.

"Don't mind if I do." Darius delicately took a piece and began to eat it, dry.

Deciding it would be best not to comment, Keiran searched around his head for something else to talk about, of which there was nothing, and then began searching the room for a conversation topic.

His eyes passed over a group of Paladins, one of which was the one with the deviruchi hat. Keiran blinked. But... wasn't he... over there before? He glanced back at the spot where he had sworn he had seen the Paladin only a second before, and sure enough, he was still sitting there, joking with his friends.

Startled, Keiran looked back at the other Paladin. And he was still there. _There are two of them?_

"Er... Darius?"

His roommate looked at him, and then in the direction Keiran was staring at. "Oh. I guess you'd like me to explain?"

"Yeah... that'd be nice. Are they brothers? Twins maybe?"

"No no. Nothing like that." Darius observed the two identical Paladins as he chewed his toast. "They're not even slightly related. The one over there" he nodded towards the one in the group of Paladins, "is Sir Kuronosu. He's second in command of the guild."

"And the other one?"

"He's called Killjoy. He always copies Sir Kuro, always has done. I think he quite likes the attention people give him since they all think he's Sir Kuro." He smiled slightly.

"How do you tell them apart?" Keiran was completely baffled, he couldn't see any differences between them at all.

"Well... for one, Killjoy has a lot of Crusader friends rather than Paladins, that's how I can tell now. And for another thing, Sir Kuro's rosary is a lot bigger and more elaborate."

"Ah. I see. Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"Do you know everyone in the guild?"

"Hm? No. Mostly I just know the Paladins since they were always around when Father brought me to look around and things."

Once again, Keiran noticed that Darius seemed almost bitter when talking about his father and chose not to reply. Instead, he gazed at the roof, wondering what time lessons would begin. He was eager to get started, after all this time as a novice, not learning anything interesting, he wanted to actually find out how to fight properly, not just hitting people over the head with bits of wood.

Very slowly, people started to drift out of the hall to begin their days work of whatever it was that Crusaders did. Keeping the peace or something. Keiran looked around the hall. They hadn't kept the peace in here very well. There was toast all over the floor, and one of the suits of armour even had several pieces of toast stuck on the end of his lance.

Keiran grinned to himself, noting it into his mental notebook where he kept his ideas for practical jokes, which was one of his favourite hobbies. That and... he glanced at the swordswomen down the row. _Hm... Probably a little early to start flirting with them yet..._ he thought slyly, scanning their faces.

One particularly attractive girl with shoulder-length sandy-blonde hair looked up at him from across the other side of the table when his gaze fell on her. Haha oh well. He winked at her. And most unexpectedly, she winked back. He raised his eyebrows, and she grinned. He waggled them and she burst into fits of helpless laughter.

Understandably, her friends thought she had gone mad and stared at her. Keiran quickly looked back at his toast, grinning. _Yeah. I rock_.

"Hello my small friends!!" exclaimed someone right behind him, causing all three boys to jump. Well, Keiran would have jumped if the Crusader didn't have his hands on his shoulders.

"Oops sorry!" Grobyc trilled, clearly not sorry at all.

"Hi Groby." Keiran said while the rest of the swordsmen stared at the beaming Crusader in armour that made him look twice the size he actually was.

"I, Grobyc," he announced proudly "have been instructed, to show you, to your first lesson!"

No one moved.

"...So! UP UP UP!! Can't be keeping Sir Kuro waiting all day now can we? Hmm?"

The swordsmen slowly got to their feet and followed the bubbly Crusader to the second floor, where he gave them a guided tour of each of the rooms, allowing them about two seconds to look around before ushering them off to the next one.

Finally Grobyc steered them into a room in which a Paladin was standing, staring out the window with a bored look on his face.

"SIIIIR!" Groby trilled.

The Paladin turned around to face them. It was the one who had told Keiran to hurry to breakfast, and his rosary was big and fancy, so that made him Kuronosu?

He was very tall and the way he carried himself told Keiran that he was proud, but not so much as to make him hard to be around. Everything about him radiated kindness and protection, from the top of his cute grinning deviruchi hat to the ragged end of his magnificent cape. Since Keiran wasn't really that way inclined, he wasn't going to go telling everyone about it, but Kuronosu was also a good-looking man, and judging from the giggles some of the girls were giving, he was _very_ good-looking.

"Hi there! Come on in!" he said cheerfully and the swordsmen filed in, followed by Grobyc who shut the door after them.

"Groby, you are so late that it's just not funny," he scolded, grinning.

"I'm sorry Sir! I was showing them around the floor."

"Oh. Oh okay then." He turned back to the assembled students. "Welcome! To the Guild of Crusaders! I'm Kuronosu, or Sir Kuro to you until you've become Crusaders, and I will be your main teacher for a while. I'm 26 years old, and second in command here in the guild. I was born in Amatsu and my hobbies include riding, playing poker, eating toast, and sleeping." He removed his hat and ran a hand through his sleek brown hair, "this is also the first time I've actually been in charge of noobs by myself, so please forgive me if I stuff up."

Keiran noticed that he was still holding a piece of toast in one hand.

"Hmm... I suppose I should tell you about the guild itself." He replaced his hat thoughtfully, "the guild of Crusaders is one of the most respected guilds out of all that exist today. We take pride in our strength, both attack and defence, and we're not scared to help people, whatever class they may be. Protecting people is what we live for, hence why we have been given the gift of healing and why we learn skills that sacrifice our own lives for the greater good, such as Grand Cross, which inflicts heavy damage upon multiple enemies as well as causing damage to ourselves."

The swordsmen all stared at him, some in wonder, some in shock, some in appreciation and some in adoration.

"Aside from that, the majority of us are good-natured people, so feel free to talk to anyone you wish for help or just to chat. Most people are more than willing to help out with whatever may be bugging you, be it class related or otherwise. I know I, for one, and Groby over there too, are glad to help out. And also, my fake twin, Killjoy, is too. He looks just like me" he added in response to the puzzled looks.

"How about you all have a seat? We could be here for a while." He waited patiently for his students to sort out what desks they were going to sit at and for the scraping of chairs on the floor to stop. "Right, how many of you are there?"

This was a rhetorical question, since as soon as he said it he started counting heads. "Fourteen. Nice, eight guys and six girls. Okay where was I?" he perched on the edge of his desk at the front of the room. "Ah yes. As most of you should know, we are a religious guild. God granted us our gifts, and therefore we must thank him by living our lives for him. Or... if you are so inclined, just going to church every Sunday and uttering a little prayer every now and again." He scowled slightly at the happy looks some of the students were giving each other, "But this is not the preferred way of going about it. So please, at least for the first few weeks, try to behave piously?

"Nothing you will learn as a swordsman will be Holy skills. They are learnt about when you become Crusaders, which, depending on your level of skill and understanding, could be anything between a year and three years. Or then again, you could choose to remain a swordie for the rest of your life. ...I'm very surprised you're all just sitting there so quietly. I expected some whispering at least. Oh well! I'm not complaining. Keep it up! The more you listen instead of chatting, the more you learn, and the faster you become a Crusader, yes?"

Everyone nodded automatically.

"Okay. Did everyone get your new outfits?" Kuronosu pulled a list out from under a pile of paper. "Ahem. Boys should have a tunic, pants, shoulder cloth thing (I still don't know what that is), forearm and shin guards, gloves, and really weird shoes. All got that?" Without waiting for an answer he moved on, "and girls should have a dress, 4 miles of petticoat, forearm and shin guards, gloves, chest guard, odd shoes and oh, one of those cloak things. And both genders should have a silver crucifix." He looked up from his list. "If you're missing anything, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The girl Keiran had winked at put her hand up.

"Er... Yes? Wait. What's your name, first?"

"Saphira, Sir. And Sir, I think I'm missing several miles of petticoat."

Kuronosu stared at her, and when she started grinning he roared with laughter.

Keiran decided he liked this girl very much as he looked over at her. She was grinning at him. She had chosen to sit with him, Darius and Arthur, at their group of four desks, rather than sitting with her female friends.

Once their master had finished, he wiped a tear from his eye and smiled admirably at Saphira, "I can tell you're going to make a very fine Paladin, little lady."

Saphira glowed with pride.

"Ahem." Sir Kuro said, clearing his throat. "As I was saying... Wait. What was I saying? Oh. About the clothes. Um. Oh! If you're wondering about weapons and stuff, don't fret. You'll be issued those at your first outdoor lesson. Unfortunately, for now you only get wooden swords but when you go on field trips you'll get real ones. Any questions?" he looked around the intently listening heads.

"Um Sir?" said the girl with the plait.

"Yeeees?"

"Do we get time off?"

"Name?"

"Natalie, Sir."

"Yes you do get time off. The timetable for the week days goes something like this-"

"Hang on a sec, Kuro. Give them some paper or something so they can note it down." Grobyc interrupted.

Kuro looked at him, and nodded. "As usual, you're right. I think I need you to help me with this job, Groby. Too much work for just little old me."

He then started handing out sheets of paper and pens that he'd pulled out of the desk. "Okay. Everyone got some? Right. Getting up time is between 7 and 11. No one is allowed up before then and if you're later than that you don't get breakfast. Breakfast starts at 9 and toast is all gone by 10.30 usually. Your first lesson is usually an inside one, depending on the weather, starts at 11.30 and goes until 12.30. Lunch is at 1. That ends at whatever time you want it to but you need to be done by your next lesson, an outdoor one, at 2.30. Depending on what you're learning and how well it's going, this lesson could be anything from half to three hours long. Hey, don't look like that, time flies when you're having fun. After that lesson is done, you're free to do whatever you wish. We can organize parties and go out hunting in the fields or you can study in the library.

"Also during this time you will have to carry out your chores. Yes chores. We all do them so don't think we're just using you. They're not hard, really. Mostly it will be things like... tidying your dorms, which is to be done everyday, helping in the kitchens, cleaning up the eating hall, that sort of thing. Nothing too hard, right? Oh. About the dorm thing, if you fail to keep your room clean, you and your roommate will have to clean out the stables. You have been warned.

"When you're not doing chores though, you're free freeeee freeeeeee~ you can wander around town, sleep, read, talk, play games... whatever. Dinner's at 7. So everyone needs to be back by then, got it? If you're not, you're in serious trouble. Not only will you miss out on food, but you'll spend the next day cleaning and polishing. After dinner you're free again. But you're not allowed out of the castle unless you have a decent excuse. Supper's at 9, or before then if you wish for an early night. After that you're all to be in your dorms. Light's out at 11, no excuses.

"Any questions?" he stretched and yawned.

Darius stuck his hand up.

"Ah... Darius?"

"What about weekends?"

"Well on Saturday, your day will be mostly like during the week, only we have dinner at 6 so we can throw parties. And light's out is at 12. And Sunday... breakfast must be done by 10 and then we head over to the church for the 11 o'clock service. Lunch is at 2 and the rest of the day you have off. But in this time people may choose to take extra lessons. For example if you were particularly interested in single handed sword mastery, you could get a lesson on it."

Keiran looked around at everyone, they all were listening carefully still, pens poised above the paper. He, personally, was thrilled with the timetable. Back at home, he had never had any sort of freedom, he had been forced to do all the housework, look after his younger brother and he wasn't even allowed to go into town by himself (not that that had stopped him). But now all that would change. He grinned.

Kuronosu pulled a pocket watch out of somewhere in his armour and peered at it. "The time, for those who're wondering, is currently five to 12. Bugger. I was hoping this would've taken up more time than it has." He replaced the watch and sat down heavily in his chair. "So, any suggestions?"

The class remained silent, gazing at him or the walls, windows, ceiling, or any other interesting focus points.

"O-kay. I'll take that as a no."

"Sir? Can I ask a question?" Keiran said, somewhat cautiously.

"Go ahead."

"Is that the same piece of toast you were holding this morning?"

Kuronosu blinked, looking at the object in question, "why, yes it is. Does it bother you?"

"... Not really. I was just wondering why you have it."

"Believe it or not, it's actually an equip. Although you're supposed to wear it in your mouth. But I've discovered that this tends to make it soggy... Does that answer your question?"

"Yessir."

"What's your name?"

"Keiran, sir."

"Alright. ... Hm. I think I can allow you guys to talk and stuff now. Socialize. It's a very important skill for Paladins. Get to know each other. ... Carry on." He got to his feet and wandered over to talk to Grobyc.

The class stayed silent for a moment before bursting into discussion about how they were going to spend their free time and how long it'd take them to become a Crusader.

Keiran just sat there and thought about his future.

____________

Smothering a yawn, Keiran helped himself to a piece of chicken from the middle serving plate. It was already 7pm and Keiran wondered where the day had gone. He's already learnt so much, and it was only his first day. The lesson today had been about basic attack and defense and he had been surprised to see that there was more to it than what he had thought. Sir Kuronosu had carefully gone over everything they needed to know, explaining _why_ they needed to learn this and demonstrating each technique carefully with Grobyc, who seemed to like hanging around them. He had then split them into pairs to practice, and spent most of the afternoon laughing and correcting attack stances and their hold on their newly acquired swords.

The lesson had taken them up to 5pm, much to the surprise of everyone. Kuro had just laughed and said 'told you so!'.

They hadn't been required for any jobs today so they divided into the already forming groups of friends and headed off to do whatever they wanted.

Keiran's group consisted of Darius, Arthur, and Arthur's roommate who Keiran believed was called Kiba. Kiba, if that's what his name was, had messy dark silver-grey hair, ice blue eyes and a tendency to blush for no reason. He seemed to be a very nervous sort of person, but when Keiran had been paired up with him during the lesson, Kiba had been confident and strong, gaining several compliments from Sir Kuro.

When he had been paired up with Arthur, however, it was hard not to scream at him to 'STOP DROPPING THE ******* SWORD!' which he did often. But Keiran was patient, and gave him as much advice as possible, which the poor boy had eaten up gratefully, until Grobyc noticed he was struggling and came over to help out. Keiran had then been paired up with Darius, who had smiled wearily and positioned himself in a perfect attack stance.

Even Kuronosu had stopped what he was doing to watch them as they duelled. They blocked each others blows perfectly, even though they were attacking at twice the speed they should have been. No one was winning, and no one was losing. Eventually they had to be broken up by Kuronosu, who was totally gob-smacked, showering them both in compliments and suggestions of private lessons that they could take.

Grabbing a handful of chips from a passing plate, Keiran grinned at the memory. It was good to have a friend so equal to his own strength. And one who didn't care if he won or lost at that. Sitting back in his chair, he sighed deeply, if only he talked more...

After the lesson, Keiran and his new friends had decided to have a look around town, and the entire time, Darius had hardly said anything, leaving Arthur and Keiran to discuss their future plans. Kiba had joined in when Keiran had mentioned practical jokes, as it seemed that they shared a common hobby. Perhaps the nervousness was just because he was worried about his first day?

They had arrived back at ten to seven, and had been whisked away to help in the kitchens, carrying out plates and such. It was likely that Arthur would never be asked again, since he successfully managed to break all of the plates he was carrying when he tripped over nothing and dropped them on the floor.

And now, here they were, slouching in their seats, totally exhausted, but very happy. All of the swordsmen looked tired, as several Crusaders pointed out to Kuronosu, suggesting that perhaps he shouldn't make them work so hard. He had flatly told them that the only way the swordies would get stronger is if they were worked until they were too tired to move. This way it also toughened them up for missions were they would _have _to fight till they were exhausted.

"Hey Keiran?"

He looked up from where he had been carefully applying a fine layer of salt to his chips, "mm?"

The girl blushed slightly, "could you please pass the potatoes?"

"Er... sure" he looked around, and upon spotting them, handed the bowl over, "here you go."

"Thank you."

"Any time." Keiran gazed at her for a short while longer, wondering if all of these girls were bashful, or if they just hadn't had much experience talking to guys. _Or perhaps they all think I'm really ugly. Or really hot, _he thought slyly, returning to his chicken and chips.

The rest of the evening passed by as quickly as the day had, and before they knew it, they were herded off to bed by a pair of sleepy Crusaders.

"And you had better not be too loud!" said the male Crusader, "some of us actually like to get a good nights sleep!"

"... Nwa, the floors are made of stone." His female friend pointed out, literally.

"So!?"

"So I don't think you're going to able to hear them anyway."

"... Shut up!" he pouted and clanked off up the stairs, his white ponytail swinging merrily along behind.

"... Do excuse him; he's just a sore loser." The female Crusader smiled at Keiran and the rest of the swordsmen who had stuck around to see what was happening.

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Oops~ My bad. Next time I'll remember to whisper," she waved at her friend who was scowling at her from three metres overhead. "Right. Off to bed with you! And don't forget to brush your teeth!"

With that she was gone.

The swordswomen all looked at each other, and as one dashed down the hall to their dorms. Keiran suspected this had something to do with them wanting the best spot in front of the mirror, or something.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was a chorus of slamming doors and all six girls rushed back down the corridor.

"Um. We might want to move," he said carefully, looking up at the sign above the door they were standing next to.

Just in time, they scooted out of the path of six fast-moving swordswomen, armed with various toilet bags and skirts wide enough to block the whole doorway and then some.

With much pushing, screaming, swearing and hair pulling, the girls fought their way into their beloved bathroom, slamming the door violently behind them.

"... Well," muttered Kiba, "remind me never to get on the wrong side of a girl, ever."

There was a murmur of bewildered agreement from everyone else as they stared at the closed door. This then opened, slowly.

"Heh," said Saphira, "there's actually enough sinks and mirrors for all of us in here..."

Keiran opened his mouth to point out that she didn't actually need to tell them that, but she had already gone.

He shrugged instead, following the rest of the guys to their dorms.

Darius left at once, toothbrush clutched in one hand, his pyjamas tucked safely under his arm, leaving Keiran feeling rather unwanted as he sorted through his limited belongings, excavating his toothbrush from where it had got wrapped up in his pyjama shirt.

He changed quickly and left the room just as the other boys were coming back.

"Looks like you get it all to yourself." One of them smirked. He had blonde hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and Keiran had no idea what his name was, but was sure he'd find out soon enough.

He grinned in reply and headed down the hall.

The bathroom was very large, and very white. Someone had taken the time to tile it instead of just leaving the stone showing. There were showers, toilets, sinks, and even a large cubicle which Keiran suspected contained a bath.

He turned to the mirror, peering at himself while he lathered up his flannel.

Although his blue-black hair contrasted somewhat with his narrow green eyes, the effect was quite pleasant. He considered himself to be good-looking, and from the way girls had treated him in the past, they thought so too. Not that he cared; after all, you should be happy with the way God made you.

Keiran smiled at himself before washing his face and carrying on with other things that you are expected to do in a bathroom, instead of just standing around being vain.

When he went back to his bedroom, Darius had drawn the curtains and was in bed, the covers pulled high over his shoulders, and judging by his deep breathing, he was already sleeping soundly.

"Good night." Keiran muttered, crawling into bed and falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *


	2. Part 2: Friends and Pecos

Some language in this one. :P

* * *

And so passed the days, then a week, and then two.

Keiran learned quickly and had already taken his place at the top of the class beside Darius. Both boys were told they were natural swordsmen at least once a day, but didn't allow this to inflate their heads, which was an easy task for Darius who seemed to take everything in his stride, but Keiran had to work hard to make sure he didn't snub anyone accidentally.

He seemed to be managing alright however, and had made friends with all the guys and successfully flirted with all six girls, learning their names, ages, personalities, like and dislikes.

The lessons grew more and more interesting, and as the interest rose, so did the difficulty, challenging the students every day in new ways.

They had gone from learning about attack and defence stances, to studying swords and spears, to learning about Advanced Health Recovery - a skill that allows you to heal yourself steadily over time, with little or no effort from the user. They had even had a lesson on the skill Endure, which had been a very sore lesson, since they had to learn to endure pain, allowing them to continue moving and fighting without flinching. The swordsmen had all been very bruised and battered at dinner that night until one of the female Paladins had taken pity on them and healed them up.

There had been two Friday field trips out into the fields where they hunted porings, chonchons, and the occasional creamy if there was a Paladin around to be back-up, just in case. Keiran enjoyed these trips as he was an adamant collector of all things and came back to the castle at the end of the day with his rucksack bulging with things the Paladins and Crusaders had deemed not worth picking up, such as bits of fluff dropped by fabres – a caterpillar-like monster, and feathers from the fluffy white rabbits known as lunatics.

These bits and pieces had ended up in Keiran's drawers, while his clothing had moved to their new home, also known as the floor, despite Sir Kuro's threat about having to clean out the stables if they were caught with a messy room.

Darius had started off well, folding his clothes and putting them away neatly, but now his collection of borrowed-and-not-returned library books was growing and the piles were starting to lean dangerously, usually to be knocked down by Keiran when he had nothing better to do.

After a long day prowling Prontera fields killing anything that moved, the swordsmen had returned to their dorm, their bellies full with yet another delicious meal and sleepily prepared for bed.

Keiran was sitting cross-legged on the end of his bed in his red spotty pj's that clashed terribly with his hair, twiddling him thumbs and humming to himself.

"You know what; we need to have a party. Or something."

His by-now best friend, Darius, made a noise in his throat and turned the page of his book without looking up.

Keiran gave him a withering look.

Apparently quite a secretive person, Darius had not revealed anything more about himself other than his birthday (June 9th) and a few of his hobbies, and even that valuable information had been forced out of him by a frustrated Keiran.

Darius' favourite hobby turned out to be reading, which seemed to dominate his free time these days. Even when they went to town he'd take a book and while Keiran, Arthur and Kiba talked, Darius read. Before he went to sleep at night he'd read for half an hour or so and at the dinner table he'd nearly always have a book propped up in front of him.

"We at least need a radio or something. It's so quiet." Keiran persisted.

"Quiet's good."

"..."

Darius was smiling at his book.

"What?"

"Oh nothing."

"What is it?" Keiran swivelled around to face him, "tell me!"

"It's nothing, really."

"TELL ME."

"Okay, okay... But it really is nothing." Darius sighed, "I was just thinking how alike you are to the main character in this story."

Keiran frowned, "I thought you were gonna say you had a radio or something."

"Unfortunately for you, I don't."

"... so, is he cool?"

Darius glanced up, "who?"

"The story guy."

"Oh he's not too bad. A bit of a handful sometimes, but all in all a good guy." Darius grinned.

Keiran grinned slyly back, "'s he handsome?"

"The ladies seem to think so."

"Nice."

Silence returned to the room, broken occasionally by the sound of armoured bodies heading up the stairs.

Keiran dragged himself off the bed and went over to the mirror, and started restyling his hair. "Is it just me or is my hair getting more poofy?" he asked, smoothing his fringe.

Suddenly there were voices from the hallway, accompanied by the clanking of armour that announced that a Paladin was in the area and there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Keiran called, before realizing Paladins at your door at 9pm could surely not be a good thing.

"Roooooooom check!" Grobyc's voice said.

Sir Kuronosu made his stately way into the room, followed by a grinning Groby, and looked around.

Keiran also looked around, his face freezing in a pained smile as he saw the room as Kuro must – resembling nothing less than a war zone, complete with blood on the wall from where he'd cut his shoulder open on a mace he'd collected without noticing and had gone and leant against the wall...

"Good God!" Kuro exclaimed, staring around himself.

Grobyc's face appeared from behind Kuro's expansive form, "wow."

"Well if we gave prizes for the most impressive mess, you guys would almost certainly take that- Is that blood?" the Paladin clanked over to investigate.

"Er yeah. My shoulder-"

"Did you think about cleaning it off, ever?" Kuro's tone was flat.

"... no, Sir." Keiran wilted, feeling stupid.

"Why?" a smile was starting to play around the corners of his mouth, but Keiran didn't notice as he was too busy staring at his feet.

"Didn't feel like it, sir... " he drooped a little more.

"It's hardly hygienic having blood on the walls." Kuro said forcefully.

"No sir."

"In future, clean it off as soon as you notice it, please."

"Yes sir" mumbled Keiran.

By now Kuronosu was grinning openly, and Grobyc was doubled over with silent laughter at the swordsman's obvious shame. Darius was watching with an expression of polite confusion on his face, his book lying forgotten on his knee.

"And as for YOU!" Kuro half-shouted, making everyone jump as he rounded suddenly on Darius, who leapt to his feet and stood to attention so fast you would have thought he'd sat on a burning coal.

Grobyc gave up trying to hide it and laughed out loud, tears of mirth streaming down his face.

Kuro was fighting to keep his face serious but was failing and so it was with a cracking voice he ordered "when your friend's bleeding bad enough to get it on the walls, take him to someone to get healed!"

Darius was lost for words and nodded hastily, "sir."

Unable to keep a straight face any longer, Kuro clapped the boys on the shoulders, roaring in laughter at their twin mallet-smacked expressions.

Keiran and Darius looked at each other, totally confused.

"Um..." Keiran hazarded.

Dragging himself upright using the swordsmen, Kuronosu cleared his throat, "so, anyway. You'll be expected in the stables at 4pm tomorrow. Don't be late. And of course you're still expected to clean this bomb-site up."

With that he and Grobyc swept from the room, chuckling to himself.

________________

At 4pm the following day, after thoroughly cleaning up their room (Darius had forced Keiran to put some of his more useless items into guild storage) to Kuronosu's standards, the boys trekked out to the stables.

In all truth Keiran was looking forward to visiting the stables where the pecopecos lived, as he'd never been in there before, and being the adventure-loving person he was, felt he had to go everywhere at least once. Sure, the guild stables weren't exactly the adventure hotspot of the world, but still.

"Hey hey" Kiba greeted them as they approached. He'd opened up a lot over the last two weeks and had turned out to be great fun to hang out with.

"Oh you guys didn't clean up either?" Keiran grinned at his other friends.

Arthur lifted his hand briefly, casting nervous glances over his shoulder when the peco's called to each other.

"Nah. Couldn't be stuffed, personally" Kiba shrugged, "Arthur kept his side tidy and Kuronosu said he didn't have to clean, but for whatever reason he said he'd help."

Keiran raised an eyebrow at the boy who was slowly edging away from the stable door, "you don't like pecos, Arthur?"

Arthur jumped, "hm?"

"Pecos. D'you not like them?"

"Oh. N-no, not really."

Kiba sighed and explained, "he says he doesn't like their beaks."

"What are you, his mother?" Keiran shoved Kiba playfully.

"Er, no." Kiba scowled, shoving him back, "It's just easier for me to tell you rather than trying to pries it out of Arthur."

"I s'pose. Anyone else coming?"

"Nah. Saphira and Astarte's room was a mess when I was in there the other day but they must've cleaned it up..."

"You were in their room?!" Keiran exclaimed.

"Yeah." Kiba grinned.

Keiran grabbed him in a headlock, "Well? What was it like?"

"Not that much different from a guy's room actually. It is Astarte we're talking about, she might as well be a guy. And Saphira isn't that much better."

"... Shhh!" Keiran glanced around, as if there was a chance the two girls were standing nearby, "did they have posters?"

"Posters? Yeah, why?"

"Gotta know what sorta guys they're into."

"Errr Astarte had like, emo half-naked stalkers and assassins and shit. Saphira had all these paintings of mounted knights going into battle or whatever."

"That's it?"

"She does have this one little picture, right by her bed..." Kiba grinned furtively.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she kept trying to cover it up; standing in front of it and stuff, but I still saw it~"

"You gonna tell me or just beat around the bush?" Keiran tightened his grip.

Kiba choked, scrabbling at Keiran's arm, "okay, okay! I'll tell!"

"Good man," said Keiran, ruffling the boy's hair as he let him go, "so?"

"You know that group pic we had to have taken for the year book? The one where you're trying to strangle me? OH WAIT, you try strangle me in every photo!"

"I do not- Oh wait, maybe I do, but yeah, I know the one."

"Yeah, she has that by her bed, and wait, it gets better."

"Spill." Keiran brandished his fist, causing Kiba to shoot backwards a few paces before he could be caught in a headlock again.

"She's drawn a little love heart. Right-by-your-face." Kiba tried smiling sweetly but it became more of a smirk as Keiran's face developed a glazed-over expression.

"Saphira and Keiran, up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G~" he sang.

"Shut up you fag, you're ruining the moment. Just how old are you anyway?" Keiran glared at him.

"First comes love~ Then comes marriage~"

"Shut the fuck up or I'll tell Chaku you've had a crush on her since you were seven."

Kiba broke off mid song and made a zipping motion across his lips.

"Damn this stable duty! I so could be out onna date right now!" whined Keiran, clenching his fists.

"Then maybe in future you'll keep your room a bit cleaner, hmm?" said a voice he didn't quite recognize.

He turned to see a female Crusader standing directly behind him, her hands on her hips. Keiran vaguely remembered her to be the female of the pair of Crusaders he'd met on his first day on the stairs as they'd been heading to bed.

She had green eyes and long scraggly blonde hair that was all over her face and seemed reluctant to lie flat even though it was wedged firmly in place by a brown boy's cap, which Keiran knew, was a very expensive headgear to make or buy.

"Heeey." he said.

"Hey my ass." she scowled at him, "You're not here for a picnic, you know."

"Sorry ma'am."

"Miss."

"Huh?"

"I prefer to be called 'miss', thankyouverymuch."

"Yes miss, sorry miss."

The Crusader beckoned the other boys over, "Right. My name's Ilyn, and as you know, you're here to clean the stables," she smirked evilly, "usually we'd muck out our own peco's stalls, but sometimes we get lucky and have guys like you to do it for us. ... I'd like you to know that riding the pecos while you're here is strictly forbidden, and believe me, we'll know if you have. Now if you'll follow me."

She shoved open the huge double doors with surprising strength for someone as skinny as she was and lead them down to the far end.

"What's her problem?" Keiran whispered to Kiba as they followed, "she seemed perfectly nice the other week."

"Er." said Kiba, glancing at the back of the Crusader's head nervously, "she's Saphira's older sister, mate."

"Oh." said Keiran, realization dawning on his face, "Oh no... How long was she standing behind me?"

"Long enough, it seems." Kiba patted him on the back comfortingly.

"Shit."

"Right, grab a fork and a wheelbarrow." Ilyn gestured at the tools, seating herself on a bale of hay, "pretty much you go into a stall, scoop up any wet, soiled straw and dump it in your barrow, then when it's full you take it out back to the compost piles. When you're done clearing it out, come back here and grab half a bale of straw and spread it out evenly around the stall. Move to the next stall and repeat."

The boys stared at her.

"Well, what're you waiting for?"

"Do we have to do all of them?" Kiba asked in disbelief.

Ilyn looked at him, then down the rows of stables, "I don't see why not."

"But there're easily 200 stalls in here!"

"Yeah I'd say that's about right."

"It'll take all day!"

"I think that's the idea" Darius contributed, laying his pitchfork in his wheelbarrow and heading for the nearest stall, where the resident pecopeco had been watching them curiously.

Ilyn watched him with a smile, "it's good to see someone remembers why they're here in the first place."

Arthur followed suit, nervously eyeing up the huge grand peco in the stall he'd chosen. Keiran could see the peco's evil eyes watching the boy calculatingly, probably working out the easiest way of attaining freedom.

"Yo Arthur, I'll do that one, you do the next one." Keiran nodded at the peco in the next stall, who was snoozing on one leg with her head under her wing.

With a breathless gush of thanks, Arthur disappeared into the stall. The peco opened her eye and looked at him briefly before going back to sleep.

Kiba meanwhile was still standing with his pitchfork in one hand, glaring from one friend to another, making frustrated noises.

"Nnnnh FINE." he growled, marching his wheelbarrow off into a stall.

Keiran stood outside the stall with the evil-looking peco, perfectly aware that Ilyn was watching his every move.

"Hey there," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. This peco's beak was at least three times as big as his head and was more than capable of snapping him in half like a twig.

The peco watched him with one beady eye from the back of the stall, apparently uninterested.

Keiran manoeuvred his wheelbarrow into position so that it would prevent the peco from bolting out the door as soon as he opened it. He glanced at Ilyn and saw she was smiling slightly in a pleased sort of way.

Taking confidence from this his carefully slid back the bolt and pushed the door open just enough for him to wiggle the barrow into the stall before hastily closing it and stuffing the bolt home.

Now the second problem...

He turned around slowly to face the peco. It had shifted its weight slightly but other than that, hadn't moved.

Something was telling him that if he ignored this particular peco and started cleaning, he'd find himself half way across the room with a leg missing, and so he just stood, trying to remember what he'd read in the book he'd bought; '_So you want to be a Paladin!?_' It had said that pecos were extremely intelligent creatures and liked to play games with their owners and caregivers if they hadn't been out enough. Sometime they wouldn't let you near them until you'd done whatever it was they wanted, be it feed them a carrot or pat their beaks...

Keiran eyed the peco up; he certainly wasn't going to risk his leg by ignoring him.

"Right then big guy. Don't kill me please," he whispered, walking up to the peco, who turned his huge head to look at him with both eyes.

Reluctantly, Keiran held out his hand, palm up. He doubted keeping his hand flat like you were supposed to do for smaller farm animals was going to make much of a difference to a beast with a head as long as his upper body, but still.

The pecopeco glared at it for a minute, and just when Keiran had started to back up, he dropped his head so that his ear was level with Keiran's face.

"Good boy..." Keiran muttered, mystified, cautiously scratching the bird's head, causing it to make a strange rumbling noise in its throat, "you like that, do you?"

The peco honked softly and tilted his face a little more. Obligingly Keiran ruffled the bird's feathers in the new spot.

"Bravo" said a voice behind him.

Keiran turned to see Ilyn leaning on the doorway, watching him with an amused expression.

"You're one of the few who've been able to stand in Lab's stall for longer than a minute without being chased out."

As Keiran had stopped scratching when Ilyn had appeared, the peco waddled over to her instead and laid his head lightly on her shoulder.

"Is he yours?" asked Keiran.

"Mine?" Ilyn rubbed the birds face affectionately, "No, no, Labyrinth's Sir Kuronosu's peco."

"Ah..."

"Your little friend wouldn't have even got his wheelbarrow inside." she said cheerfully, nodding at Arthur, who was now onto his second stall. "You can probably muck him out now. He'll be fine."

"Yes miss." Keiran picked up his pitchfork and set to work.

Ilyn stayed put, idly grooming Kuro's purring peco as she watched the swordsman thoughtfully, "I _suppose_ I can let you go out with Saphira, you seem pretty sensible-" (there was a snort from Kiba's stall) "-but you had better treat her well or I'll feed you to _my_ peco."

There was a sudden squeal, the sound of ripping material and a clatter as Arthur sprinted out of the stall he'd just entered, clutching the seat of his pants and pursued by a dully coloured female pecopeco with unusually long tail feathers.

The peco skidded to a halt when she realized she was free and looked around.

"Now, now, Serres, be nice." Ilyn scolded.

The peco honked excitedly, throwing her head up and trotting to meet her mistress, shoving her head into the Crusaders chest with enough force to send one of the swordsmen flying. Ilyn, however, barely moved and rubbed the peco's huge beak roughly.

"Is _that_ one yours then?" Keiran asked, backing off as the peco swung around to look at him with intelligent eyes.

"Yes indeed." Ilyn looked over at Arthur who had sunk onto a hay bale, "you alright?"

Arthur whimpered but nodded, jumping as Darius put his hand on the poor boys shoulder comfortingly.

"You sure? I'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble if she's hurt you; we're supposed to train all the bad habits out of them quick, but her habits weren't a problem for me so I kinda gave up..." she shoved her peco's head away playfully.

"I'm f-f-fine." Arthur stammered.

"And I'll pay for your new pants of course. I really should have warned you first-"

There was a thud as Kiba, who had until that moment been leaning over a stall door watching the proceedings grinning, was shoved from behind by a bored peco and fell flat on his back into a pile of straw, where he stayed, laughing up at the cheeky face poking over the door.

"Man you guys must smell funny or _something_; they're usually not this bad!" Ilyn laughed, her peco peering over her shoulder at Arthur clicking her beak.

Ilyn swatted her beak again, "Serres, go apologize, _Jesus_."

The peco stepped around her master and lowered her head as she walked towards Arthur, who leapt to his feet, holding an amused Darius in front of him like a shield.

Serres honked gently and sat down, laying the very tip of her beak at Arthur's feet and looking up at him with huge puppy eyes. Darius shuffled aside, despite Arthur's best attempts to keep him in front of him.

"She won't hurt you" Darius said bracingly, squatting beside the peco and rubbing just behind the ear, to her obvious delight, "see?"

Arthur shuddered and crouched down next to Darius, watching him carefully removing the casing around the base of a new feather.

"Nnh" Arthur groaned, cautiously running his finger up the peco's beak.

Serres closed her eyes and purred deeply.

Arthur's fingers reached the birds face and she shoved her head forwards so his hand was resting between her eyes. He stroked the feathers there and the peco shuffled forwards, resting her head on his lap.

The stunned swordsman looked up at his friends and Ilyn; the four of them were grinning at him. He smiled uncertainly back.

Darius clapped him on the shoulder as he pushed himself to his feet, "come on, we've got a lot of work to do."

Ilyn called to her peco and Serres allowed Arthur to pat her beak one last time before returning to her master's side, "I'm gonna take her out for a ride. If you have an emergency I'll be in the yards. But I think you're all pretty peco-savvy now."

The guys nodded and said goodbye, picking up their tools and psyching themselves up for what would turn out to be a very long and very tiring three hours.

_________________

The next morning at 8:10 am, Keiran woke up sore, smelling strongly of pecopeco (despite showering before bed), and his mind full of his dreams - girly visions of himself racing his own trusty steed through fields of flowers and butterflies.

He shook his head, then when that failed to clear the thought, slapped himself, hard.

"Ouch." he muttered, rubbing his cheek.

"And I should think so too." said Darius sleepily, "why'd you do that?"

"Stupid dream." Keiran grinned sheepishly.

Sitting up, Darius pulled a face, "my God, I smell awful."

"Oh I dunno. I think essence of peco shit, mouldy hay and sweat really works for you."

Darius biffed a pillow at him.

"What day-" started Keiran.

"It's Sunday."

"Oh. We need a calendar too."

"So long as you're paying for it."

"Sure sure..." Keiran squished the pillow boredly as he watched Darius drag himself out of bed, "What're we going to do after Church today?"

"No idea."

"You're so BORING." he chucked the pillow as hard as he could at the back of Darius's head. It bounced off and fell to the floor with a sad poof. Darius didn't even turn around.

"..." Keiran said, "that's it, we're totally going out tonight!"

"Going out?" Darius asked, stooping to pick up the pillow again.

"Yeah! To town!"

"But we went to town on Thursday..."

"Not at night we didn't!"

"What's the point in going at night? Everything will be closed."

"... You've never been out past 9pm, have you?" Keiran asked incredulously.

Darius shrugged, "no. But anyway, we're not allowed out of the castle after 7."

"Oh right... Dorm party?" Keiran suggested hopefully.

Darius smiled indulgently in reply and gathered his uniform into his arms, "I'm going to have a shower, and I'd recommend you do the same."

"'you saying I smell?"

"Yes."

"I had a shower last night though!" Keiran protested.

Darius shrugged, "well if you think Saphira likes, hm what was it? Oh, 'essence of peco shit and moldy hay', then by all means, don't shower." With that he marched from the room, smiling to himself.

Keiran watched him go with his mouth open.

"OOC much?" he muttered, dragging himself from bed.

A few hours later, after a long and unusually boring sermon (Keiran put this down to his mind being elsewhere half the time), the swordies were to be found milling around outside Prontera church waiting for the rest of the guild to finish socializing with the resident priests.

"Wow Keiran, check her out," Kiba nudged him, nodding towards the church doors.

A young High Priestess was standing in the alcove dressed entirely in purple and white, from her white puppy headband and her purple hair all the way down to her purple heeled shoes.

"Fwoooaaah..." Keiran breathed admiringly, "she looks a bit... ya' know... up herself though."

Indeed, as beautiful as she may have been, the priestess was looking down her nose at everyone as they walked past her, with an air that said quite clearly that she knew better than them.

Keiran sidled over to Darius, "yo, d'you know her?"

"Keiran, I don't know everyone in the world." he said, following Keiran's gaze, "Oh that's Jaina."

"See you do know everyone!"

"One High Priest and a few paladins is hardly everyone."

"Psh whatever."

"So what do you know?" Kiba had shuffled over too.

Darius looked from one eager face to the other and sighed, "not much. Just that apparently she's extremely talented, and is more than certainly the favourite for the priest's next guild master, despite being younger than preferred."

"Like you, you mean?" Kiba winked at Darius, who smiled very slightly and pulled a novel from his pack.

"I think Keiran would make a good guild master too." Arthur contributed, breaking out of his daydream to join in.

"Me?" Keiran snorted, "I'm hardly master material. Too much maturity and level-headedness needed for _that_. I'd be happy with 2IC though, Kuro looks like he still has fun."

"2IC?" Arthur asked blankly.

"Second in command." Kiba offered helpfully.

"That's the one. Though I'd be happy with the classic life, ya' know," Keiran said, glancing at the swordswomen who were sitting on the opposite wall giggling and whispering, fluttering their eyelashes at an attractive male High Priest who looked flattered by all the attention, "Adventuring 'til I had enough zeny to be comfortable... get married to a nice girl, have a hundred kids..."

"Why the fuck do you want a hundred kids?"

"Hey Blank, didn't see you there." Keiran said breezily.

"Of course you didn't; you're as blind as a freaking Familiar."

"And as usual your language is delightful!"

The other swordsman threw himself down next to Keiran, shoving his blonde ponytail over his shoulder irritably. (Kiba was pretending to read Darius's book over his shoulder and Arthur was staring into space to avoid being targeted by the livid Blank)

"And as usual you're a dickhead." he growled, "I've just sat in a stinking church, on a rock-hard bench, listening to some old fart blabber about love and peace, for the last God knows how long, _wedged between Shiz and Chris _of all people, do you _really_ blame me?"

Keiran thought about this, "No, no I don't." he said soberly.

Chris and Shiz were two of the other swordsmen, and no one liked them much. At least, not when they were together anyway. When apart, Chris was pretty quiet and treated everyone nicely, especially the girls, and Shiz was hyperactive but funny. But when they were together they became totally unbearable.

They were rude to each other and to everyone around them; including the older guild members, they caused havoc whenever they were presented with an opportunity; always taking it too far, and they had made at least three of the girls cry for various reasons, and this, by Keiran's standards, was unforgivable.

They cared nothing for religion and helping others; anyone doomed to sit near them in church or during theory lessons was to be pitied, as the pair never stopped sniggering and muttering nasty things to each other under their breath, making it bloody hard to even pretend to listen. You were screwed if you actually wanted to pay attention.

It was a miracle they hadn't been thrown out of the guild, to be quite honest.

Currently they were perched on the side of a flower bed some distance away, smirking at the last swordsman who appeared to be telling them off. As Keiran watched, Chris burst out laughing, high-fiving Shiz who was wearing a sickeningly self-satisfied look. The other swordsman dropped his arms, which he had been gesturing with as he talked, spun on his heels and marched towards the larger group of swordsmen, muttering mutinously.

"Those two are _hopeless_." he exclaimed, plonking himself down beside Blank.

"We know." Keiran said consolingly.

"Why are they even here?!"

"Coz they have to be?"

"I _meant_, why are they trying to become Paladins?" the boy demanded, pulling at his shoulder-length red hair is frustration, "they should be rogues! Or assassins either!"

"That's a little stereotypical, Match."

"Oh yeah?" Blank contributed, "have you ever met a kind assassin, or a rogue that was nice to you purely because that's how they were, and not because they were trying to steal your wallet?

"No. I haven't even met a Thief yet." Keiran scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully, "I'm sure they can be nice."

Blank snorted, "My dad's a rogue, and he's a dick. So are all his friends."

"Anyway!" interrupted Match, "that's not the point here."

"There was a point?" Keiran smothered a yawn, suddenly looking forward to lunch and his afternoon off.

"Yes! The point is that those two are clearly not Paladin material and they shouldn't be allowed to continue!"

"OKAY CHILDREN, IT'S HOME TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!" yelled Grobyc, waving his arms as he emerged from inside the church, saving Keiran from having to continue this discussion he'd already had a hundred times.

"Ahem." said Jaina the purple High Priestess, her hands on her expansive hips.

"Oh hello, ma'am." Grobyc addressed her, bowing as deeply as his armour would allow.

"Kindly keep your voice down." she said stiffly.

Taken aback by her abruptness, Groby's smiled faltered, and he bowed again, more formally, "ma'am."

Jaina nodded briefly to Kuronosu who had just appeared, before she herself disappeared, hips swishing, into the church.

"Bossy little thing, isn't she?" Kuronosu said, patting the dejected Crusader on the back as he passed.

"Yeah..." Groby mumbled, falling into line behind him.

"Come on guys, let's go," the Paladin started heading for home, beckoning to the swordies over his shoulder.

The swordswomen reluctantly released the poor High Priest they had been plaiting the hair of, with many blown kisses and promises to come visit again next week. He blessed them all and waved them off, looking slightly relieved to see the back of them.

Darius put his book away and headed off, poking Arthur on the way past to wake him from the stupor he tended to fall into when nothing was happening.

Keiran dragged himself to his feet, vaguely aware that his leg had started to cramp up, and limped after them, accompanied by Kiba.

Blank and Match followed a few paces behind, starting up their conversation about assassins and rogues again.

Nobody noticed Chris and Shiz slip away in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Are all the swordsmen here?!?!" a stressed looking Paladin shrieked, her hands clasping and unclasping around her rosary as she stared up and down the rows of diners.

Silence fell upon the whole hall as everyone stared at her.

It was dinner of the same day; Sir Kuro had just finished saying grace and everyone was digging into their meals. Or had been until this frenzied Paladin had come sprinting into the room with her eyes glistening with tears and yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Anyone missing?!"

Keiran looked around himself. He hadn't noticed anyone had been absent, but now that he thought about it... he hadn't seen Chris or Shiz at lunch, or at all since they had been at church, and they certainly weren't here now.

"Shiz and Chris are missing." said the Paladin who had taken their Endure lesson, scanning the rows of faces.

The stressed lady squeaked and collapsed to her knees, causing a racket as numerous people all got up to help her at once.

Kuronosu got to her first, gesturing to the others that they should return to their seats as he squatted in front of her, "Alyssa, it's okay. Those two have been late before," he said softly, placing a comforting hand on her cheek (he had to do this as it was hardly going to be any comfort to wrap his armoured arm around her equally armoured shoulders).

"No, no!" she wailed, shaking her head, "You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand?"

She dropped her voice to a shaky whisper, but Keiran was still sitting close enough to hear, "there's been another murder... here, in Prontera this time"

Kuro gave a sharp intake of breath, "and you think-"

"The priest I heard it from said it was a first class who was killed" Alyssa shuddered.

"Shh... Don't jump to conclusions, love. We'll find them" he pressed his forehead to hers briefly, before springing up and into action.

"Shei, Mix, look after Alyssa, get her to bed," he ordered, his voice loud and clear over the nervous murmur that had broken out, "Hikari, Breakthru, Killjoy! Come with me."

He swept from the room, the three male Paladins in his wake.

The remaining guild members stayed silent for about 20 seconds after they'd left and Alyssa had been escorted from the hall by two female Paladins, then everyone started talking at once.

"You don't really think they've been murdered do you?" Kiba asked, leaning forwards to better be heard over the noise, his face worried despite his dislike of the boys.

Keiran shook his head, trying not to think too hard about this news. Sure he hated the guys, but he didn't wish them dead.

"I read in the paper the other day," said Arthur vaguely, pushing his glasses back up his nose, "there was an accident in Morroc involving a merchant girl that a lot of people thought might have actually been a m-murder."

"I saw that too! It looked like an accident except that the girl had been raped or something." Blank contributed from across the table, "and there was a mage girl in Geffen where the same thing'd happened."

Silence greeted this.

"I guess if those guys were killed then it wasn't by the same person." Match said finally.

"Why?" Kiba asked mulishly.

"_Because_, retard, a guy that's going around raping people before he kills them is hardly going to bother killing guys when there're plenty of girls around." Blank rolled his eyes as if this was the most obvious fact ever.

"Unless he rapes guys too," Arthur said offhandedly.

Everyone stared at him with expressions of disgust that he could even suggest such a thing.

"You don't realize what you just said, do you?" Keiran asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Arthur looked at him blankly.

"No, apparently not..."

"We could pray for their safety" Darius said quietly. He had been silent up until now, gazing at his book without seeing it. The others looked at him.

Keiran nodded, "yeah, we should. Even if they are morons they don't deserve to be murdered."

"If anyone's killing them it'll be me." Blank agreed grudgingly.

"Will you do the honours, Darius?" asked Match.

Darius set his glasses and book down and folded his hands in front of him, eyes closed and head bowed. The other boys followed suit.

"Lord, we ask that you watch over Chris and Shiz, wherever they might be, and guide them safely home, and that you'll assist Sir Kuronosu and the others as they search, and keep them safe from harm. We pray also for the souls of those who have been lost ahead of their time, that you'll welcome them to your side warmly. We pray that the people who are committing these terrible sins be quickly captured and brought to justice before others are hurt… Amen."

"Amen." chorused the swordsmen, joined by a few other guildsmen who had been listening.

"Sir Kuro really must have been worried if he took all the top guys with him..." Keiran heard one of the Crusaders say to his friend shortly afterwards, his plate untouched before him.

"Those guys are our best riders after all." his friend shrugged, seemingly unconcerned as he munched on a banana.

"How can you be so chilled, seriously?"

"The nutcases are after first classes, aren't they? We're second class, so we're all good."

"Do you even have a heart? We were swordies not that long ago!"

"Well we aren't anymore." The Crusader finished his banana and started peeling an orange.

His friend stared at him in disbelief.

"Shouldn't Lord Ishikawa be told?" another Crusader said from the indifferent guy's other side.

(Keiran noticed Darius's hand twitch as he reached for his drink.)

Indifferent guy shrugged, "I'm sure someone's already told him."

"But what if they haven't? Isn't he going to be pissed when he finds out Sir Kuronosu's gone and taken control?"

"It's an emergency situation; I hardly think Kuro's gonna lose his guild position for not asking before he ran off to rescue swordies."

"He's not here anyway." a female Paladin offered.

"Yes, we know. He just ran out the door." indifferent guy droned, pulling a slice off his orange.

"No, you egg. _Lord Ishikawa_'s not here."

"He's not?"

"No."

"Oh. It's not like we'd know, really; he never comes down for meals or anything. He probably spends half his time lounging around reading dirty magazines."

"He's a very busy man!" the Paladin said defensively.

"Sure he is." the Crusader chewed on another orange slice, "so, where is 'e then?"

"That's none of your business!" growled she, getting heavily to her feet and marching away to sit with another group.

"She just doesn't know."

"I think you'll find she does; she's his personal assistant."

Indifferent guy froze, his next orange slice half-way to his mouth, "oh."

"Mmhmm."

He put the slice down very carefully and cleared his throat, "I suppose I should go apologise then."

"If you ever want to be a Paladin, yes." his friend said, smirking.

"Er... I'll be right back." he stood up, bumping the table in his haste and sending oranges rolling all over the floor, before chasing after the Paladin who was squashing a bread roll in her fist angrily as she talked with her friends.

"I don't think he realised the heir to the Ishikawa family and also to this guild was sitting right across the table, either." the Crusader nodded respectfully to Darius, "I apologise on his behalf."

"No apology needed." Darius said simply, smiling evenly.

Keiran blinked, from the way this Crusader was talking it sounded as if Darius's family was a lot more influential than he'd originally thought. Were the Ishikawa's possibly one of Rune Midgard's royal families? It would make sense if they were. Having the entire Guild of Crusaders under the control of one of the King's oldest and most loyal families must surely have its benefits.

As Keiran loved learning the history behind people and places, he'd borrowed one of Darius' books on the history of Prontera and its people, especially the Priests and the Crusaders. It had been a fascinating read, fo'sho.

He'd learnt that the Crusaders guild was the largest of all the guilds, followed at a distance by the Priests guild, and that all these people he ate with every day were only a portion of the full Guild. The King held the guild in such high esteem that he had even removed the 80 member cap that was in place for the other guilds.

The larger part of the guild, namely the veteran guild members who'd given up adventuring but not their Paladin ways, lived permanently at the King's castle where they worked as guards, or were employed as members of the city's police, or if they trained enough and were lucky they could be chosen by the King himself to be a part of his personal guard – the highest honour a Paladin could hope for.

Anyway...

"Okay guys, if you're finished eating then head up to your dorms please." a Paladin said with a calming smile, "and please, please don't leave the castle, whatever you do. We'll let you know when we find out what's happening."

Keiran looked at his plate – he hadn't so much as touched the food he'd piled onto it. He pushed it away, his usually healthy appetite gone and vanished with the news of the missing swordsmen.

"I'm gonna head up." he muttered, snatching a couple of apples to eat later if he got hungry as he stood up, "see you guys tomorrow."

Darius nodded and got to his feet too. "Goodnight," he said, lifting his hand in farewell to the other swordsmen, "sleep well."

"Wow, so serious suddenly." Kiba rubbed his head wearily, looking back to his food, "Seeyas."

Arthur waved briefly, before also starting on his dinner.

"So much for a party, huh?" Keiran grinned weakly as he and Darius trekked up the stairs.

"Yeah." Darius trailed his hand along the rail. "I think they'll be fine, don't worry yourself too much."

"Who's worried?" he tried snorting callously but it sounded a bit weak, even to him.

Darius smiled knowingly, pausing at the top of the second flight of stairs to gaze out the window at the city of Prontera. Keiran joined him, eyes scanning the roads to town in the vain hope of seeing Sir Kuronosu and his party returning home with his fellow swordsmen riding on the back of someone's peco.

"Two weeks into our careers and drama's already unfolding around us." he sighed, running his hand through his hair, "I haven't felt this down for a while..."

"Welcome to the guild life." Grobyc said from behind them as he climbed the next flight, giving the boys a cheery grin, although even that looked forced. "It only gets better!"

When Keiran woke up it took him a few minutes to work out why he was so anxious, and when he did remember it hit like a lead weight in his stomach, making him feel very ill; no one had come to tell them anything last night. Was that good, or bad? Surely someone had news now? Maybe they were back?

Making his decision, he leapt out of bed, not even pausing to put a shirt on, and charged out the door and down the corridor to Chris and Shiz's room.

"Hold up, Keiran."

He turned to see one of the Paladins Sir Kuronosu had taken with him last night strolling towards him before he'd even got half way down the hall. The Paladin looked tired and worn, as if he'd been riding all night long.

"Sir! Shiz- Chris- did you find them? Are they okay?" Keiran asked, rushing to meet him. He didn't know why he suddenly cared so much about the terrible twosome, but he just _had to know_.

He looked up into the Paladin's grim face and his heart plummeted.

They stared at each other for a minute, with each second that passed Keiran lost a little more hope.

Then the corner of the Paladin's mouth twitched into a slight, awkward smile that didn't touch his eyes at all. "They're both fine." he said in a low, steady voice.

Keiran exhaled slowly, he hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath, "What was the look for then? Sir."

"What look?" The Paladin looked genuinely puzzled.

"Er... Never mind."

"You should go back to bed."

"But Chris-" Keiran started

"Won't appreciate you barging into his room at 4 in the morning," he cast his eyes to Keiran's attire, or lack there-of, "and half-naked at that."

"Oh right, sorry."

The Paladin observed him coolly, "off you go then."

"Yes sir." Keiran turned to go, then paused and turned back, "Can I ask your name, sir? I would introduce myself first but you already know my name..."

Looking somewhat stunned to be asked his name by a mere swordie, he replied simply, "Breakthru."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir."

He grunted in reply, "and you."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Breakthru nodded, sitting down heavily against the wall.

Keiran wondered at this briefly as he shut the door into his and Darius' room quietly behind himself, coming to the conclusion the Paladin was on guard duty to make sure none of the swordsmen went for any night time escapades.

After dragging himself back into bed he whispered a short prayer of thanks, before drifting off to sleep.

* * *


	3. Part 3: Oh no, yaoi fangirls

Breakfast next morning was a loud affair, with all the tension from the night before relieved and many exaggerated or completely made-up stories floating around, such as the one that told that Kuronosu had been dragged from his peco by a horde of giant mutated lunatics that had somehow broken into town and had mauled him as he had tried to drag them off the two swordsmen.

"That's a whole load of shit," Blank scowled at the overly-excited Crusader girl who had been telling the tale with much waving of arms, "No way in fucking hell would Kuro get beaten by lunatics, even if there were hundreds of the damn things."

The Crusader, non-deterred, shrugged and waltzed off to tell someone less opinionated.

"So what _really _happened?" Keiran asked, turning to Chris and Shiz, who were of course enjoying the attention. They had also told their own tall-tale, about how they'd battled with an assassin cross and won, to which Blank had snorted his cereal all over the table as he laughed in frank disbelief.

"Nothing, do be quite honest." Chris said, "We just buggered off into town – wanted to watch this gypsy's dance, and later we went around the bars and stuff, no big deal." He shrugged, "we were on our way back when that emo Paladin guy found us."

"He didn't even say anything – just dragged us onto his peco and ran us all up to the castle." Shiz added, grinning, "It was Killjoy who did his nut at us," he put on a high voice - his imitation sounding more like Keiran's mother rather than a Paladin, "'_Where do you think you've been?! The whole guild's been in an uproar!' 'You could've been killed!' 'Did you even stop to think?!'"_

"Um, Shiz-" Keiran said, staring at the large form that had come to a standstill directly behind Shiz, tapping its foot.

"'_What would your fathers think?!'"_

"I'd have to say that was the poorest impersonation of me I think I've ever heard." Killjoy rumbled.

Chris stopped his maniacal laughing and Shiz's smile slipped alarmingly fast. They looked at each other, and then looked over their shoulders at the Paladin, twin sheepish smiles forced into place.

"I forgot to mention last night," Killjoy continued in his insanely deep, steady voice, taking the boys by the shoulders, "in addition to being grounded, you two will be cleaning the stables every day for the next two weeks, and you're also on dinner duty _and _dishes."

"Busy, busy" Blank smirked at the pair, who looked like they wanted to complain but didn't want to earn themselves any more chores.

Killjoy grinned wickedly at him across the table. Obviously it was more than just the other swordsmen who didn't care much for the pair's constant rule-breaking.

"Ilyn will be expecting you both in the stables at 4pm on the dot. Don't be late." he gave the trouble makers a slight shake, cast a tired smile around the other swordsmen, and wandered off to talk to Sir Kuronosu, who had been watching with a look of great amusement on his face.

"Oh my God," whispered Chris.

"O.M.G." agreed Shiz.

"Could he be any more mean? How were we to know there was someone in town murdering first classes?"

"You _were_ out after hours." Darius pointed out quietly, turning the page on his novel with one hand, the other was holding a piece of toast, "and you were mocking him while he was standing right behind you."

Chris scowled at him, "Sorry, I don't remember asking your opinion, _my Lord._"

Shiz sniggered.

Darius raised his eyebrows at them, his eyes still fixed on the pages in front of him.

Apparently disappointed at this lack of reaction, Shiz and Chris put their heads together and started talking in hushed voices, no doubt already plotting their next adventure. Keiran hoped a day in the stables would sort them out – it had certainly made him keep his room cleaner (now he shoved everything under his bed, much to Darius' horror).

"Could I have your attention please, everyone." Kuro said, clapped his huge hands.

A hush fell slowly across the hall and every person turned their eyes to their second in command, who was standing at the front of the hall.

"As you know, there have been several horrible incidents over the last couple of weeks, resulting in the deaths of three first class girls..." he looked around at everyone, "I'd like us to spare a minute to pray for their souls."

A murmur of agreement went around the diners, and as one they bowed their heads. Not a sound broke the silence for over a minute and a half as each person prayed for the girls.

When Kuronosu finally raised his head, his face was tired and drawn, but he did his best to smile, "Now we must plan for the future. I'd like the guild to continue functioning as it has been – happily, peacefully, united and strong, as this is how we work best. If you need to take time off for the sake of your personal safety or mental health, please come talk to me later – I'll be happy to discuss options with you.

"For those of you who will stay: If you are venturing into town, please make sure you don't go alone, or even as a pair – we'll go by the safety in numbers rule. Stay only on the roads you know and trust, and avoid being out after dark. This goes for both ladies and gentlemen of all classes. Rule-breaking in respect to breaking curfew and being absent from classes will no longer be looked upon so leniently, so expect heavier punishment if you choose to ignore the rules we have put in place for your safety." As he said this he looked directly at Chris and Shiz, who at least for once were listening.

"On a much lighter note!" he continued, lifting the pressure from the room considerably even as he wiped the dark expression from his face, "Anyone who is interested in attending a dead branch event with the Knights guild three weeks from now, please write your name and class on the paper stuck on my office door. Everyone is welcome, of course."

An excited chatter started up. Keiran turned to his friends, grinning widely.

"What's a dead branch event?" Arthur asked, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

"Only the most awesome thing ever!" Kiba exclaimed, literally bouncing with excitement.

"Uh." Arthur looked to Darius for a more helpful explanation.

Darius itched his chin, "dead branching is an event where people summon random monsters using dead branches, which oddly enough, are short pieces of dead wood that when broken summon any monster from a poring to boss monsters like the Doppelganger and the Evil Snake Lord."

Arthur blinked at him confusedly.

Darius sighed, "we get to kill summoned monsters."

"Sounds fun!" said the swordsman, a vacant look creeping across his face.

"We're going, right?" Keiran asked hopefully.

Darius shrugged, "it'll be good experience if nothing else."

"Yes!" Keiran punched the air, "and you guys come too."

"You couldn't stop me going if you cut my legs off." Kiba grinned.

They all looked at Arthur.

"Arthur?" Darius poked him.

"Hm? Oh yes, sounds great."

Keiran raised an eyebrow at him, before turning his attention back to Kuronosu, who was clapping again.

"Another moment, if you will! Though I'm glad you're all so excited. For those who are interested in stats, our guild storage currently contains over 1000 DBs, and the Knights have a similar amount, and everyone is welcome to hunt and bring their own. We also have two bloody branches." Talking broke out again at this, and Kuro was forced to clap to draw the room's attention back. "A list of monsters and locations where you can find DBs will also be on the notice board outside my office.

"Urrrm. Ah! We'll be holding our little event on a field to the south west of Izlude – We've received permission from the King himself for this, on the condition we let no monster escape." A cheer went up, the last of the tension from earlier disappearing. "And I'm sure none of you brave, talented people will allow that!"

The cheering rose to a dull roar – a few people whistled, and someone even wolf-whistled, causing Sir Kuro to ruffle the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ahaha, thank you. I can't take full credit, however, it was a combined effort. The knights have kindly offered our party members lodging and dinner for the night – lovely people, knights..." he grinned to himself. "Okay, carry on!" He sat down.

"These three weeks had better go fast." Keiran said, helping himself to an apple.

"I bet they won't" sulked Kiba, his head propped on his hand, "Lessons will seem so tame compared to DBing."

Darius looked at them over his glasses, smiling "You'd be best to behave yourselves, then."

"Huh?"

"You don't really think they'll let you come if you cause trouble, do you?"

"Oh right." Kiba tossed an orange from one hand to the other, "I wonder if that means Chris and Shiz won't be allowed to go."

Keiran observed the pair over his apple – they were both looking crestfallen, "Killjoy said they were grounded, so I guess they won't."

"His name suits him well." Kiba nodded, flinging himself back with a sigh and stretching his legs out, "All the better for us!"

"How will we get there?" Arthur asked suddenly.

"Get where?"

"Izlude."

"Dunno. Walking, I guess." Keiran shrugged, "Although it's not exactly close..."

"Maybe we'll get pecos!" exclaimed Kiba, sitting up again.

Darius snorted, his face hidden behind his book.

"What?!"

"You don't get a pecopeco until you're a Crusader." he explained, amused, "The most you'll get is a lift on someone else's."

"Even that'd be better than walking."

Darius smiled indulgently, carefully placing his leather bookmark between the book's pages and setting it down.

Keiran translated this motion as 'hurry up Keiran, it's time for class' and stopped gnawing at his apple core and tossed it into his empty cereal bowl, getting to his feet.

"Eh, leaving already?" Kiba checked his watch, "Oh wow, where'd the morning go?"

Arthur blinked sleepily, "what's the time?"

"Ten past eleven," Kiba informed him, plucking at his shirtsleeve, "so hurry up! We might have someone mean taking the lesson today, don't want to be late."

"But there aren't any mean crusaders." Arthur protested weakly.

"There might be!" he rounded on Keiran, "Right, Keiran?!"

"Why're you asking me?" Keiran's mind however was on the Paladin from last night, Breakthru. He hadn't exactly been a barrel of laughs.

After finally prising Arthur from the bench, the four of them headed for their first lesson on the first floor, stopping half way to wait for Kiba, who insisted he needed to pee, to finish in the bathroom.

Pausing outside the closed classroom door, Kiba checked his watch again, "11:30 on the dot."

Keiran listened hard, he could hear someone talking – an adult, "shit, they've started."

Darius reached past him and opened the door, stepping lightly into the room, with Kiba and Keiran in his shadow. Arthur followed at a distance.

"Sorry we're late, Sir" Darius said as their teacher turned to look at them.

Expecting the usual happy reply of 'no problem!', Keiran was sorely disappointed.

Standing at the front of the class was Breakthru, in full armour, observing the late arrivals coldly through his narrow dark eyes.

"Take a seat." he said flatly, his eyes following them as they hurried to their seats, carefully not looking at him.

"... as I was saying." Breakthru said in his low voice, turning to face the class again, "I'll be teaching your theory lessons for the next week. My name is Breakthru, and I specialise in the skill known as Devotion, which you will learn about later. Today I will teach you the swordsman's skill tree, tomorrow we will begin the Crusader's, and on Thursday you will start to learn the Paladin's. At the end of Friday's lesson I will give you a blank tree and you will be expected to fill in the skills, levels, and a brief description of the skill."

The class members looked at each other in disbelief; sure, learning the swordsman skill tree was useful, but why did they have to memorise the Paladin's one _now_ when they probably wouldn't become Paladins for at least two years?

Breakthru looked at them steadily before turning to the blackboard and scribbling a list of the swordsman skills.

The swordsmen and women pulled out pens and paper and started copying, hanging on every word as the Paladin explained the links between the skills, drawing lines on the board to illustrate his point.

As he listened to the Paladin's voice - low and steady, but not rumbling like Killjoy's - Keiran found himself taking in everything about the Paladin's appearance - a habit he'd picked up somewhere along the lines and hadn't bothered to break, as it came in useful for... things.

Breakthru looked older than the majority of the castle's inhabitants, probably around 35 at Keiran's guess; he had prominent frown lines between his fine, pointed brows and around his down-turned mouth. There were streaks of grey appearing already in his black shoulder length hair, combed severely back from his face and pinned in place by a few hardly visible clips. His tanned face was narrow and long, although his stubbly chin was rather square, and bore the tell-tale scars of those who used the Devotion skill often.

Keiran already knew about the skill – there was a description in his Paladin book of it - The Paladin cast a sort of spell on up to five of their party members, taking _all_ of the damage those members received. It was a very painful job, but one of the most valuable skills a Paladin could have.

Blinking to refocus his eyes, Keiran looked back at Breakthru, who was still writing in his small but clear, linked handwriting, now writing the stun percentage under a skill called Fatal Blow. He was left handed, Keiran noted absently, and married, going by the silver band on his ring finger. The Paladin's armour plating was also silver, scratched and dented in places from years of guild service, and his cape which ended jaggedly just above his ankles was a rich crimson that matched the gems in the rosary hanging around his neck.

Breakthru turned around, "please finish copying, then put your books away."

Snapping awake from his reverie, Keiran hastily scribbled down the notes off the board and stuffed the paper into his pocket just as Breakthru was rubbing the board clean.

"I will give you a blank piece of paper, on which I would like you to try drawing the Swordsman skill tree from memory. I am not grading you on this. This is so _you_ see can see how much you know already." he began moving around the class, handing out pieces of paper.

_He_ _doesn't clank when he moves_, Keiran realised with a start. Breakthru was completely silent, which from what Keiran had seen of Paladins, was nearly impossible. Every part of their bodies was protected by thick plates of steel (except their heads, but apparently there were helms available to those who wanted them). Looking closely, Keiran saw that on Breakthru's armour, where each plate met another, a strip of soft leather had been attached to the lower side of the upper plate, so that when the plates hit each other they made no noise. Why a Devotion Paladin had need for stealth, Keiran couldn't work out; maybe it was personal preference.

He looked down at his blank paper, trying to concentrate. _Advanced Health Recovery, One-Handed Sword Mastery --- Two-handed Sword Mastery, Bash... _He jotted the skill names down as they came to him in tiny writing in the top corner, so that he could remember them all when he was drawing up the tree.

He became aware, as he was drawing the line between Provoke and Endure, that Breakthru was looking over his shoulder at his work and he tensed unintentionally, expecting to be told he'd done something wrong. However, Breakthru said nothing and strolled away to check Darius' skill tree.

"I see that most of you already understand the connection between the skills." the Paladin said as he walked back to the front of the class, "some however, would do better to _listen_ during future lessons."

Keiran felt he was being targeted by that suggestion, even though his skill tree was near perfect, and folded his arms defiantly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Arthur slip a little lower into his chair; presumably he hadn't done too well.

"I will be testing you again at the start of tomorrow's lesson, so be sure to study tonight." he glanced at the clock on the wall, "You're free to go."

As one the class got to their feet and began filing out the door."

"Keiran, Darius, Arthur and Kiba." said Breakthru, causing the four to halt in their tracks, "A moment, if you will."

They stood in a line in front of him, looking and feeling very much like children just caught throwing stones at passing carts. Only Darius didn't look nervous, but he kept opening and closing his hand over his thumb behind his back, which Keiran presumed was a nervous thing, like Arthur pushing up his glasses, or Kiba pulling at his shirt front... Or running your hand through your hair, as Keiran was doing, carefully not looking at the Paladin.

"Why were you late?" Breakthru asked.

"I needed to use the bathroom, Sir." Kiba explained, his hand now pulling his shoulder cloth straight, as a business man would his tie.

"Did the rest of you also need the bathroom, or did you just go to keep him company?" the Paladin wasn't smiling.

"They were waiting for me, Sir." Kiba said in a small voice, tugging at his shirt again.

Breakthru released Kiba from his dark gaze and set it instead upon Darius, who flinched slightly, "You should know better."

"Yessir."

"Don't be late again, any of you." he said forcefully.

"Yessir," they said as one, looking guiltily at their feet.

"Go on then."

The four slinked from the room, watched by the Paladin's narrowed eyes until they were out of sight down the hallway.

They said nothing until they were seated in the dining hall. There weren't many people there, as it was still a little early for lunch, but all the swordsmen were present as were a group of casually dressed Crusaders who were discussing some new dungeon that had been discovered.

"What did I say about mean Crusaders?!" Kiba exclaimed, rounding on Arthur, who jumped.

"To be technical, he's a Paladin." Keiran pointed out.

"Shut up!"

"He was only 'mean' as you say, because we were late." Darius contributed, his book already open in front of him.

"Which was your fault." Keiran added, ducking to avoid the pen that Kiba threw at him.

"You didn't have to wait!"

"That's not what you said then~" Keiran ducked again, as an apple went flying overhead and hit a red-headed swordswoman on the shoulder.

"RIGHT." she said, getting to her feet and spinning around, wooden sword drawn, "Who keeps throwing stuff at me? OWN UP."

Kiba cowered, slipping deeper into his seat as if he'd very much like to hide under the table.

Keiran whistled and pointed at him, or at least at the island of silver-grey hair that was still visible.

The girl narrowed her fine grey-blue eyes at Keiran, and presumably convinced of his innocence, fixed her glare on Kiba instead. He, as if he could feel the pressure of her intense glare, slipped off the bench completely and started to crawl away from her under the table.

"Keiran, grab him." she ordered, advancing quickly.

Keiran eyed her up, "or you'll do what?"

"Don't you dare look at me like that!" she said icily, raising her sword.

Keiran blanched, "Woah up, I'm sorry. Geez!"

"If you're sorry you'll grab that coward under the table for me."

"Yes, my Mistress." Keiran bowed sardonically to her, reaching under the table and catching Kiba by the back of his shirt as he tried to make a run for it.

"Gerroff!" he wailed, "she'll kill me!"

"It's me or you, I'm afraid, and I'm far too handsome a specimen to die before I know my genes have been passed onto the next generation." Keiran heaved and before long Kiba was sitting on the bench again, gripping the table tightly, as if it would save him from the angry swordswoman.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" she scowled at him, "and here I was thinking that your ego was comparatively small..."

He put on his best puppy-eyed expression and pouted at her, "But Astarte, It's only the truth~"

He was rewarded with a smack from the wooden sword across his back.

"Ouch." he commented mildly, although his back was smarting.

"Shut up or I'll practice my Bash on your arse."

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, earning himself another hiding.

"I didn't say anything!!" he protested, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him.

"No, which is why I didn't Bash your arse."

"But you hit me!"

"Yes, now shut up." she turned to Kiba, who was trying to slip under the table again, "as for you-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" Kiba wailed, raising his arms in front of his face protectively.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Then quite suddenly seized Keiran's glass of water from the table and poured it over Kiba's head. He shrieked, leaping to his feet, shaking his head to dislodge ice cubes and water.

Astarte grinned evilly, scooping a handful of ice cubes out of Kiba's glass. She then grabbed the dripping, protesting boy by the front of his shirt and as he struggled and pleaded, stuffed the whole lot down his back.

He went rigid and his expression twisted most fascinatingly, "nnngggggghhhhhhhhh" he said, reaching down the back of his shirt to try pick them out, flinching as the cubes slipped lower.

Keiran was still laughing when Kiba was finally allowed to untuck his shirt and fish all the ice cubes out, flexing his shoulders and back to get rid of the awful feeling they left behind.

Astarte smirked, sliding onto the bench beside Keiran, who stopped laughing. She wriggled closer until she was practically sitting on him, and he shuffled away, only to find Darius was blocking the way, a sly smile on his lips and his eyebrows raised as he read, or pretended to.

"Darius, move it." Keiran hissed, his eyes fixed on Astarte as she advanced along the bench smirking, one hand behind her back.

Darius' smile only widened.

"You can't let her do this to me!" Keiran wailed, backing up so he was pressed against Darius' unyielding form.

"Do what, exactly?" Darius' voice was nearly a laugh.

Keiran turned to look at him, and in that second Astarte pounced, knocking Keiran full off the bench and onto the floor where she sat on his abdomen, brandishing her fistful of ice.

"You wouldn't." Keiran flinched as a drop of water hit his throat.

"Oh I would." Astarte grabbed the front of his tunic and dropped the ice down it, rubbing it in for good measure.

"Yeeee GOD is that COLD." Keiran choked, eyes screwed tightly shut, "Stop it, woman!"

Astrate was manoeuvring the ice cubes around his front from the outside of his shirt. He was very aware that one had just fallen into his navel, and it was _very_ cold.

"He rather looks like he's enjoying that." said a passing Crusader, watching with raised eyebrow as Keiran shuddered when a cube slipped off his belly and around to his back.

That made Astarte stop. "Is there _anything_ guys can't make into something kinky?" she said, still sitting on Keiran, who was trying to fish out the cubes, to no avail, as Astarte would swat his hand with her sword every time he nearly had one.

"Um." the Crusader said, probably wishing he hadn't spoken. He thought for a moment, "no?"

"Sick." she said, still smirking however.

"You're the sick one." Kiba commented.

She looked up at him, "didn't I use enough ice the first time?"

"You used plenty, thanks." the still-dripping swordsman had moved to the relative safety of the other side of the table beside Arthur, who was watching the proceedings with his mouth open.

"Uh, Star" Keiran said, drawing her attention back to him, "I'm not sure what I did to deserve this, but I've learnt my lesson, really."

She narrowed her eyes at him and he smiled innocently, twitching as another cube slipped down his side - he was starting to feel a bit warm, despite the ice cubes.

"... You didn't _actually_ enjoy that, did you?" she asked, looking disturbedly amused.

"Who can say~" he said, holding up his hands in a helpless gesture.

"You can, you perverted moron." she, however, levered herself off him, dusting off her hands in a smug manner.

Keiran cheered, clamouring to his knees to shake what was left of the by now mostly melted cubes out of his shirt.

"Oooh lunch is here" Arthur observed.

Astarte followed his gaze to where a bunch of Crusaders were emerging from the kitchens, their arms laden with plates of sandwiches, huge bowls of soup or pitchers of juice.

Keiran heaved himself onto the bench beside Darius, who was still smiling most amusedly. He glared at him, "I'm holding you personally responsible."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Darius said, staring innocently at the ceiling.

"Of course you don't." Keiran rolled his eyes before turning to Astarte, "Won't you join us?"

Kiba hissed in annoyance.

Astarte raised an eyebrow at them both, but sat down beside Keiran anyway. As she did so, her arm brushed his and he flinched involuntarily.

She looked at him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye, "I'm not going to attack you again, you know."

Keiran ignored this, confused at his reaction himself; he'd never flinched from a girl's touch before - even if she had just molested him.

He considered her for a minute, as if that would somehow make things clear.

She was a handsome thing, no matter what Kiba may say. The only way she looked like a guy was in her haircut, which was short and spiky in places, but it suited her that way, with the jagged red locks falling in her grey-blue eyes. Astarte had a very tom-boyish personality to match her hair, and got along well with girls and guys both, although she still hung out more with the girls.

Keiran was very fond of her, but as far as he was aware he didn't _like-like_ her... Did he?

She caught his eye and smirked. He smiled weakly in reply.

"Oh here's Saphira. I was starting to think she'd got lost." Astarte stood up to hail her friend over with much arm waving and shouting.

Keiran spotted her making her way across the hall and to his surprise, felt his stomach do a back flip. _What the hell's going on with me?_

Saphira reached them and took the seat opposite Keiran, beside Kiba, "hello!"

There was a chorus of heys in reply, and then Astarte began interrogating her as to where she had gone after the lesson.

Keiran muttered a little prayer of thanks for the food and helped himself to a handful of tuna sandwiches to hopefully settle his stomach, which was now dancing the tango, well aware that Saphira was watching him from across the table. He deliberately kept his eyes on the cover of Darius' book, the owner of which kept shooting him questioning looks.

Reaching out for his glass, he swore loudly, remembering that the contents were now soaked into Kiba's shirt and all over the floor.

"Astarte, pass the water." he said, holding out his hand impatiently.

"Why me? I'm no closer than you are." she snorted.

This was true. The pitcher was on the other side of the table, right beside Saphira's left elbow. But he wasn't one to admit defeat in the first round.

"Because you're the one who tipped it out."

"Dunwanna." Astarte poked out her tongue, which Keiran noted was pierced.

He sighed, "fine, I'll just take yours~" he reached for her glass, which was hastily snatched out of harms way.

"Just ask Saphira to pass it, retard!" she slapped at his arm, which was still creeping across the table after her glass.

"But-" for some reason he really didn't want to ask her. It seemed selfish and demanding to ask it of her, which was really stupid; it was just a jug of water.

"Here you are, Keiran." Saphira's voice said.

Keiran turned his head slowly to look at her, totally oblivious to the fact that Astarte was bending his fingers back. Saphira was holding the jug carefully out to him, smiling.

"Uhh tha- OUCH FUCK, Star, knock it off!" he roared, pulling his hand away and clicking his fingers back into place. "You're freaking insane," he added in an undertone, rubbing his knuckles.

Astarte shrugged, her glass safely on her other side.

"Keiran~?" Saphira said, still holding the jug aloft.

"Oh right, sorry." Keiran reached to take it from her, his hand briefly touching hers. Once again he recoiled without meaning or wanting to, leaving Saphira wearing a puzzled and slightly hurt expression, and still holding the jug.

Astarte snorted derisively, "did you get raped by a girl last night or something? You're so jumpy."

"Sorry," he muttered apologetically, taking the pitcher very carefully and setting it down on his side of the table, not looking at her. _Seriously, what the fuck?_

"You know, it's usually expected that you say thank you when you've received something." Astarte said wisely, dissecting a chicken sandwich and picking the lettuce out of it.

"Oh. Right... Thanks, Saphira." he met her eyes, trying to smile normally, but his lips wouldn't work the way he wanted them to - all he achieved was a sheepish half smile.

"Not a problem?" Saphira raised an eyebrow at him as she scooped a ladleful of bright orange soup into a cup, "are you okay? You look a bit... off."

"Um."

"He got all turned on 'coz I was stuffing ice down his top." Astarte said matter-of-factly.

Keiran felt his face colour as he searched for a comeback that usually came so easily. _STOP IT!! Why am I blushing?_ He never blushed, even when the conversation headed for the gutter. What was so different about today?

"I was not turned on!" he said lamely. _Liar... _

"I think someone's in love~" one of the other swordswomen sang.

Keiran looked at her in horror. She giggled, nudging Saphira, who was also giggling.

_Is that it? Am I actually _in love _with her? _Keiran thought in disbelief as the girl whispered in Saphira's ear. He'd never loved _anyone_ before; not his parents, his brother, or even the pet lunatic he'd had when he was 10.

...What defined love anyway?

Saphira had her chin propped up on her hand as she watched him trying to organise his thoughts. The colour on his cheeks was amusing – she'd never seen him even lose his cool, let alone go completely to pieces like this, shaking his head and burning bright crimson. She had liked him for while, since she was a novice at least, but he had never noticed her – always flirting with the older girls. She had been so surprised on their first day as swordsmen when he had winked at _her. _Not Yule, who was so beautiful it hurt to look at her, nor any of the older Crusaders, but at _her. _She'd been obsessed with him ever since, just waiting for him to ask her out, or for a suitable time to ask _him _out. She had been planning to ask him herself after lunch, since he hadn't made a move yet and she was an impatient sort of person, but by his reaction to Natalie's teasing, he hadn't actually realised till today how he really felt. Poor thing.

She smiled fondly as he made a frustrated noise.

Keiran looked around at his friends for help, running his hands through his hair, however, they weren't much use. Darius was reading as usual, wearing his standard faint smile, Arthur was sleeping, his head on his arms, and Kiba- Kiba was laughing, poorly trying to disguise it as a cough.

He was completely lost. _Okay_, he thought, _say I _am _in love, why's it making me act like a complete noob? _And he certainly wasn't a noob - he'd had plenty of girlfriends, none of which had been particularly nice, personality wise; he'd been selecting for body over brains, a bad habit that he couldn't seem to break.

"GAH." he exclaimed suddenly, slamming his hands down onto the table and looking anywhere but directly at Saphira, "Saphira, willyougooutwithme?"

Saphira's smile widened and she said, "of course I will, Keiran," before starting laughing uncontrollably.

Their audience, a.k.a Kiba, Astarte and Natalie, clapped loudly, and Darius even patted him on the back and whispered 'good for you' in his ear.

Keiran groaned and face-planted on the table. _H__ow embarrassing._

"I have to go tell the others." announced Natalie, jumping to her feet and running off.

He gaped after her. _Oh great, tell everyone how much of a pansy I am, thanks._

Saphira gave a last giggle and sighing hugely, helped herself to a bun and dipped it in her soup, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Er, so Saphira, wanna go grab a coffee or something with me after class?" Keiran asked, trying to regain his usual composure, it was hard though – Kiba was sniggering in the background.

"Oh I suppose I could do that." she said breezily.

"No, you can't." Darius said sternly.

Keiran stared at him, "Darius, mate, I know you're jealous of my amazing skillz, _but_-"

"No, Keiran, do you ever listen?" he gave the other boy a withering look, "We're not supposed to go out in groups of any less than three people."

"Oh, right..." pouting, Keiran slumped on the table, picking at his sandwich unhappily, "so what d'we do?

"I'll come if you want."

It was Keiran's turn to give the withering look, "You want to come on our date?"

"You wouldn't even notice me." Darius brandished his book to clarify.

"That's not the point..." Keiran sat up quickly, "Ooh I know! Double date!"

"Hmm?"

"You bring a girl too!"

Darius blinked, politely incredulous, "er."

"Bring Astarte! Or Chaku – she's nice."

"Keiran-"

"And you guys can come too!" Keiran exclaimed, pointing at Kiba and Arthur, before swinging to face Darius again, "so who're you bringing? Yule? Bet she'd go with you."

"_Keiran." _Darius put his book down, rather less gently than usual.

Keiran stopped blabbering, "yeah?"

"I'm not going on a double date with you."

"Oh..." Keiran was crestfallen, and he wasn't the only one – Astarte had been eyeing him up hopefully, not that Darius noticed "Why not?"

"I'm not interested in dating right now."

"What're you, gay or something?" For someone whose entire life revolved around girls, Keiran found Darius' lack of interest in the matter hard to swallow.

"Keiran." Darius said warningly.

"Okay okay, I got ya," he waved his hand dismissively, "you're gay, and engaged to some blacksmith from Lighthalzen- I'm joking! Jokes, man!" he added, seeing the look on Darius' face, which said quite plainly _shut the fuck up_.

"I suppose we'll just have to drag you along without a date then, since you offered to in the first place." Keiran said; his enthusiasm rather dampened down.

"There'll be no need to drag me."

"Is it okay if I join you?" Astarte asked Keiran quietly, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Darius who had picked up his book again.

Keiran – matchmaker extraordinaire – could see what she was plotting. He may be rubbish at telling what his own feelings were, but he was good at spotting them in other people, and Astarte most certainly had a thing for Darius. _How unfortunate for her, I hope she likes them hard-to-get..._

"Of course~ Safety in numbers, right?" he winked at her, and she gave him a grateful smirk. (Is that even possible?)

Saphira caught his eye and did the thumbs up, very quickly, behind a bowl of fruit. Keiran grinned in reply.

Darius must have sensed something fishy, as he looked up and around questioningly at the two girls, and even scowled at Keiran, who feigned hurt.

"Are you and Arthur going to come?" Keiran asked Kiba.

"Nah, I have an appointment with K- ... someone." Kiba said, looking uncomfortable.

"Who?" he inquired nosily.

"No one important." he said evasively, swallowing the last of his water and leaving the table.

Keiran watched him go, puzzled.

"Arthur?"

Silence.

"Arthur!" Keiran tried again, tossing an ice cube at his head.

"Ow! Did you say something?"

"No, but I'm about to." he frowned at him, "D'you know who Kiba's meeting?"

"He's meeting someone?" Arthur blinked.

"Yeah..."

"No I don't know."

"Kay. You coming to town with us later?"

"Oh. No, no I think I'll stay here and study, if it's okay with you." he smiled apologetically.

"Yeah sure…" Keiran said sulkily.

They finished lunch in relative silence, interrupted only by a couple of the other swordswomen who had come to congratulate Saphira on her catch.

"I asked her, you know." Keiran pointed out, as the girls were acting as if he wasn't there.

"Natalie said you were very sweet." Chaku smiled at him.

Keiran groaned, "_sweet?_"

Chaku was the type of girl most guys would describe as 'cute' rather than pretty. She was kind of short, with a round face with bright, green eyes, and long white-silver hair that she wore wound into tight buns at either side of her head. She was very kind, somewhat shy, but polite and considerate when she talked to anybody. Keiran had issues trying to imagine her as a Paladin in full armour; she was lightly built, like those who pursued a career as a hunter or an assassin, but she doing alright in classes, so who knows, she may just turn out to be a great Shield Chain pally in the future... or something.

"Very sweet, in fact." Yule corrected.

"_Even better!_" exclaimed Keiran, shredding the top slice of bread on his by now very mutilated sandwich.

Yule was on another page completely. On her very own page, in fact; no one else was good enough to so much as touch it. She was perfect in every single way. Her lavender hair, pulled around into pigtails at the front, was straight and soft looking, her eyes were a dark purple that sparkled when they caught the sun. She was tall, slim, and had the most stunning figure Keiran had ever seen. If it weren't for the muscles that were starting to show after the weeks of training, she could have been a dancer, and a damn good one at that. But as it was, Yule made an excellent swordswoman; she moved with a sort of fluid grace that Keiran had only ever seen in the gypsies who sometimes danced in town. It was enchanting to watch her practice her swordsmanship; every movement flowed onto the next one perfectly, not missing a beat, and always in control.

As with many beautiful girls, she didn't have the nicest personality. She was perfectly aware that the other girls were jealous, and all the guys loved her (or at least her body), and liked to rub it in. Although she may not be doing it intentionally. She spoke her mind, disregarding who she was talking to; unless they were male, handsome, older, and taller than she was. To this lucky group she turned on the charm, acting very much like a dancer working at a high-class bar. Turned out her mother was a gypsy…

And while we're at it... Keiran peered over at Saphira.

Saphira was rather pretty in an unremarkable way (Keiran kicked himself mentally for his heartlessness); she had slightly wavy, sandy blonde hair worn loose around her shoulders, and hazel eyes with streaks of gold and black... _So pretty..._ She was a bit taller than Chaku, and the perfect build for a Paladin-to-be – slightly stocky, not too tall, strong arms... Certainly not Keiran's usual type of girl, but whatever! She didn't count as a usual girl to him. Saphira had an open sort of personality – she was what you wanted her to be – whether you wanted a laugh, sympathy, a heated debate or someone to duel with, she'd provide. She was everyone's friend, and now... Keiran's girlfriend. He felt a twinge in his gut as he thought this.

So anyway, enough descriptions.

Yule and Chaku had left pretty quickly, and Keiran and his friends followed shortly afterwards, heading to their outside class.

Despite it still being winter, it was a bright, sunny day for once, and the birds in the trees of the courtyard were going 'ape-shit' as Kiba said, in other words: mental, crazy, enjoying the sunshine very muchly in fact. As was everyone.

"Righty, children xD." said an obnoxiously happy Crusader dude that Keiran couldn't quite remember the name of. It was another name that was actually a word, spelt wrong, like Madd, or Insayn, or something... Anyway, he had taken their outdoor class once last week, the one on the skill 'Provoke', "Your real lessons begin now! xD"

"So what were the last two weeks?" asked Yule, examining her perfect nails.

"They were to analyse where you were in regard to skills, etcetera, etcetera," he grinned widely – Keiran noticed he closed his eyes when he did so, which made him look quite stupid, "and so we could learn your personalities so as to teach you better! xD"

"Right..." she said, snorting in a most unladylike fashion.

Totally unfazed, the crazy Crusader – actually that was his name: Krazy - gestured for them to take a seat and they plonked themselves down in various positions on the grass, soaking up the sun's warmth. Keiran's stomach practiced its gymnastics again as Saphira sat beside him, her legs tucked up underneath her to one side, so that she was tilted towards him, her hair tickling his arm when the breeze caught it. He wanted very much to run his hands through it, but resisted the urge; now really wasn't the time.

"I'll be teaching you all one-handed sword mastery, level three xD. You did level one and two the other days with Kuronosu, so yeah! xD" he beamed around at them all.

"He's really strange." Saphira whispered, leaning towards Keiran with a pleasant whiff of something floral, "I guess if he's nice though, it doesn't matter."

"Mm," Keiran smiled crookedly at her, feeling suddenly rather blasé about everything.

"Pair up, peoples! xD" Krazy finished explaining whatever he'd been explaining and waved his hands at them.

Keiran blinked, "pairs? Right." he looked automatically to Darius, who was looking back at him.

"Oh, did you want to go with Saphira?" Darius asked, spotting the girl sitting beside him.

"Um…" Keiran didn't know. Yes he did want to be with her, but then Darius'd have to go with someone else... And he did enjoy duelling Darius...

"It's okay. I'll go with Astarte, since she usually pairs with Saphira." Darius reassured him with a smile, getting to his feet.

Pleasantly surprised, Astarte jumped up, patting her skirt down self-consciously as she went to his side, smiling smugly.

Keiran, feeling somewhat guilty, pushed himself to feet and held out his hand for Saphira, "my lady?"

"Thank you, kind sir." she said, taking his hand and letting him pull her up, where she continued holding his hand.

"Everyone got a partner? xD" Krazy moseyed over, "Oh don't you two make a cute couple? xP" he said, squinting at Keiran and Saphira. Keiran felt her edge behind him slightly, away from the mad Crusader with his tongue poking out.

"Urm." said Keiran.

"Right!" the Crusader said loudly, turning back to the class, "Hold your sword in your dominant hand and stick the other behind your back. xD You're not allowed to use it at all~ Then try go through the drills Sir Kuro taught you last week. xD If you need help, ask!"

The lesson was a comparatively short one, for which everyone was thankful since both their non-dominant and dominant arms had been threatening to drop off very early into the class.

Krazy explained that this was supposed to teach them better control of their swords, as well as increasing dexterity and alertness, as they had to pay extra attention if they hoped to defend their unprotected shoulder.

"Normally, of course, you'd have a shield to cover that side xD" Krazy told them, poking Kiba's left shoulder after Arthur had managed to smack it unintentionally hard with his wooden sword. "But you have to be prepared for situations where your shield may not be handy, ripped from your arm, or broken! xD"

"Why does he have to smile when he says that?" Kiba had whispered to Keiran, rubbing his sore shoulder.

________________

The trip to town afterwards had proved to be much less painful, more interesting and achieved greater results all round.

Keiran had managed to keep a conversation going with Saphira nearly the whole time, with no uncomfortable silences. He was extremely relieved that he hadn't been reduced to a blubbering wreck in her presence – all was not lost for his manliness yet.

Even Astarte had done well with her impartial date-but-not. Surprising everyone, she had engaged Darius in a lengthy discussion about the series of romance novels he had been reading, which apparently was one of her favourites, comparing favourite characters and plot points and generally not making a hell of a lot of sense to Keiran, who had never been into fiction books. Darius didn't take out his book once, which must have been a record, and had actually looked like he was enjoying himself; he even bought Astarte a drink. That had made Keiran fall off his chair in amazement, which in turn had earned him a hiding.

They had gone for coffee first, then sat on a grass verge in the town centre for a while, watching people come and go, pointing and commenting on people's headgear and colour combinations – some of which was just downright stupid, such as the high priestess with aqua hair, blue robes, and pink see-through fairy wings who was wearing an off-white handkerchief on her head. And then there were the really colour-orientated, like a professor with brilliant crimson hair and robes, and a large crimson hat, she even had a red munak pet.

That had somehow lead to Keiran and the girls stalking a whitesmith through the city after Keiran had exclaimed that he wanted the twin horns poking out of the man's hair, in order ask what his headgear was called. Dragging a protesting Darius along after them they had charged after the whitesmith, who was surprisingly fast for someone dragging a cart full of rocks behind them. They had finally caught up to him, after doing several laps of the centre, in a building to the right of the main square, where he was heaving lumps of rocks onto the counter of a large, very hot shop, to be inspected by a heavy set man with a magnifying glass.

The swordsman had hovered in the corner, watching as another larger whitesmith beat the crap out of an equally large axe with an equally large hammer, before stuffing it back on the gigantic furnace in the middle of the room.

The room was very crowded, and everyone in it was large, muscular and very sweaty. Occasionally the door would open and smaller, clean people would rush in, toss their money and a weapon or armour at the store keeper then sprint out, holding their breath. Only to rush back in several minutes later to collect either their newly upgraded items, or to swear violently at the whitesmith who was doing the upgrading and had broken their weapon; he would shrug and say 'not my fault' in a very blasé way and the customer would leave, fuming as much as the workers.

The whitesmith with the horns had taken his time to do whatever he was doing. Just as Keiran had run out of patience and was going to go poke him, the man stuffed a heavy bag of zeny into his cart, turned, and marched out of the building. Outside he had paused, breathed deeply a few times, and headed for the nearest patch of grass, where he sat down heavily.

"Okay, what do you want?" he had asked, peering under his greasy fringe at the swordsmen, who had rushed outside after him.

"Um." said Keiran as they approached him, suddenly noticing just how huge the guys arm muscles were.

"I'm not selling my elu for less than 7k" he'd said in a final sort of way.

"Actually- I was wondering about your horns-"

"5mil."

"Wha?"

"I'll sell them to you. 5mil."

"No I just wanted to know what they were called."

The whitesmith frowned at him, pulling a cigarette from behind his ear and stuffing it between his lips, "Incubus horns. AGI+1, mag-def+10. 5mil, market price is 5.5mil."

"Incubus..." Saphira said wonderingly.

"Yeah. Nasty things, they are. The dungeon they live in's a freaking mess, magic using monsters everywhere. Took me days to get these babies." he pointed at the horns. "'Course I got heaps of cards and bloody succubus horns before I got them." he dug into his cart, pulling out a curled horn, and held it out for them to see, "4.5mil. Market price 5.5mil."

"Oh, no thanks" said Saphira, noticing the whitesmith was talking to her now, "I can't afford them at the moment."

"4mil." he scowled at her, as if it was a personal insult that she had no money. Which Keiran guessed, to a money-orientated class such as a whitesmith, it might be.

"Sorry, I only have 100,000 zeny."

"Do you always vend in Prontera?" Keiran asked, drawing the whitesmith's attention back to him.

"Yeah. South of the centre, just after the hotel." he squinted up at Keiran, "you gonna buy something?"

"I'll buy your Incubus horns as soon as I have the money." he assured him, wondering how the hell he was going to save up five million zeny.

The whitesmith grinned widely, tapping the ash off his cigarette, "I'll hold you to that."

They had left him there and walked back to the castle listening to Darius read a passage out of his book while Astarte watched him intently.

Saphira walked close beside Keiran, holding his hand.

She leaned closer, "Darius _isn't_ gay, is he?" she whispered, very, _very,_ quietly – Keiran had to duck to hear her properly, since she only came up to his shoulder.

"Not as far as I know." Keiran glanced at his friend over her head, "I think he's just really not interested, like he says. But you never can tell with some people."

"It's a shame... He's so popular with the girls."

Keiran raised an eyebrow at her, "you like him too?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry..." she looked guiltily at the floor, "I didn't mean..." she trailed off.

"Nah nah,'s all good. He _is_ mighty fine." Keiran grinned.

Saphira laughed, "and are _you_ gay?"

"Me? Not gay, no. Otherwise I wouldn't be with you, now would I?"

"So you're bi?" Saphira looked amused.

"Aren't we all a little bi~?" he replied in a vague way.

"So you _are?_" She stared up at him with interested, pleading eyes.

Keiran peered down at her, realisation dawning, "oh no, no... You're not one of those... _yaoi fan girls_, are you?"

Saphira smirked.

"Oh God." Keiran ran his free hand through his hair as he stared up at the sky, "and you- you think... me and... Oh my God."

"You two would be most nose-bleed worthy." Saphira assured him, grinning slyly at his horrified expression.

He slowly replaced the look with a smile and laughed hesitantly, "I'll take that as a compliment, I think."

"So you should! You have to be sexy to be in one of _my _pairings."

"Ahah! You think I'm sexy!" Keiran exclaimed happily. He felt his gut twinge as it tried to remind him she wasn't his usual type of girlfriend. He ignored it – he was quite happy actually being able to talk to her normally, thanks all the same.

"Well... yeah." Saphira blushed and changed subject, "Are you bi then? I don't mind, at all, really."

"Yes. I'm so bi you wouldn't believe." Keiran rolled his eyes. "And by the way, me and Darius get it on every night."

"Who's seme?" she said suddenly.

"Wha-?"

"Who's on top?"

"Oh, me of cou- wait what?" Keiran stared at her eager face, his smile slipping slightly, "kay, now you're scaring me..."

"Aww come on!" she said, tugging at his arm.

"No, no, seriously." he said, walking quickly to catch up to Darius and Astarte who were a fair distance ahead.

Saphira let go in favour of trotting beside him, looking less animated, "sorry."

Keiran slowed down and looked around at her, cringing away at the sight of her looking so unhappy, "aww! Don't look like that! I'll feel bad for not being gay." he said, wincing in revulsion at his own words.

She giggled, catching his hand again, "I'll keep my thoughts about you two to myself from now on, if you'd like."

"Yes please. I'd like that very much."

"What would you like very much?" asked Darius curiously as they drew within speaking range, handing his book to Astarte so she could read the blurb.

"A lot of things I'd rather not talk about in the present company." Keiran replied, waving his hand dismissively, "wow that sounded gay didn't it?"

Saphira giggled, pulling her hand out of Keiran's, and skipped over to whisper something to Astarte, who smirked.

"Saphira..." Keiran started exasperatedly, "Are you going to tell everyone about what I said?"

"What did you say? Darius asked, raising his eyebrows.

"He has a man-crush on you." Saphira said, hiding behind the smirking Astarte.

Keiran gaped after her, "Oh for the love of God!"

Darius looked at him blankly.

"I don't! I was just saying-" Keiran started.

"That he thinks you're-" Saphira was cut off mid-sentence as Keiran lunged across the grass at Astarte, who deftly stepped aside, allowing him to tackle Saphira. She squeaked as he grabbed her round the middle.

"I'm what, exactly?" Darius' eyebrows moved a little higher up his forehead.

"Really-" squeaked Saphira, pulling fruitlessly at Keiran's hands.

"A really good friend." he said loudly over her.

Darius looked calculatingly at Keiran, "right."

Grinning stupidly, Keiran swivelled Saphira around, "Excuse me a minute." he said to Darius over his shoulder, before marching her away to a bench some distance away.

"Sit!" he commanded, letting go of her.

She sat, looking up at him innocently.

"What was that for?" Keiran stuck his hands on his hips, "hmm?"

"What was what for?" her eyes widened.

"You just promised me you'd keep such things to yourself, and straight away you're telling Astarte and worse still – Darius!"

"I don't know what you mean." Saphira said, batting her eyelashes.

"Sure you don't."

"I never promised anything." she pouted, folding her arms.

"Now you're being childish~" he sighed.

She poked her tongue out at him.

"Fine! If you're gonna be like that I'll just dump you and go out with Darius instead. Since that's what you want~!" he turned to leave.

"Nuuu!" she grabbed for his hand, pulling him down to sit next to her.

He gave her a mocking hard look, folding his arms to prevent her clinging.

"I'll be nice, okay? No more gay comments."

"Promise?"

Saphira giggled at his childish expression and nodded, "promise."

He relaxed, allowing her to slip her arm under his.

_Such pretty eyes... _Keiran found himself staring into them, mesmerised, vaguely aware that her other hand was on his knee.

Astarte cleared her throat loudly, standing in front of them, "don't you have some date rules, like, no kissing on the first date?"

Keiran tore his eyes away from Saphira's reluctantly, cursing himself as he felt the colour rise to his cheeks again, "we weren't kissing!"

"Maybe not, but you sure as hell were going to be if I hadn't stepped in." Astarte rolled her eyes.

"So, what's wrong with that?" Keiran demanded.

"First date!" Astarte countered, stepping closer.

Keiran stood up, towering over the girl, "shut up!"

"No!" she met his glare levelly.

"YES."

"NO!"

Darius, standing in the background, face-palmed, "smooth..."

"You shut up too!"

"Keiran~"

"Shut- oh, no _you_ don't have to, Saph." he smiled down at her before rounding on Astarte again.

However he never got there – Saphira had grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back onto the bench, seizing him by either side of the face.

"_You_ shut up." she whispered.

"Okay." he said, just as quietly. He could feel her breath on his chin, sending yet another flurry through his gut.

"Argh, okay Darius, let's head back." Astarte said, turning away from them in disgust, "we'll be late if we have to wait for those two to finish making out."

Darius, who'd been watching them with a slight smile, nodded and followed after her, "see you at dinner, Keiran."

"Yeah... right..." he said vaguely, Saphira's warm hands still on his cheeks.

Hesitantly he lifted his hand and stroked a tendril of her hair that had escaped from behind her ear and was blowing in the breeze, letting it slip slowly through his fingers; it was just as soft as it looked. _Ah shit... _

Without an audience to worry about, the fluttering, dancing _thing_ in Keiran's stomach was going crazy. His expression softened to the point of being disturbingly _cute_, and he did nothing to stop it, too intent on the feel of this girl's hand along his jaw, through his hair, over his ear, gently exploring his whole face.

He touched her neck with shaking fingers, trying to be gentle as he wove them into her sandy hair...

And then she was kissing him, softly, her dark lashes pressed lightly together, hiding her golden eyes. Her lips were soft and sweet, tasting slightly of cherry where they touched his, slightly apart.

Keiran made a little noise of pleasant surprise, returning her kiss just as gently.

It was hard for him to stay so careful; her touch, her kiss, _everything _about her_,_ was so completely different from any of his previous girlfriends. They hadn't treated him like this... they who thought that the aim of kissing was to see how far you could stick your tongue down your partner's throat. They'd only wanted him for his body - that much was blindingly obvious now.

He carefully pulled away, his hand along her jaw preventing her lips from following his. Exhaling slowly he rested his forehead against hers, losing himself in her eyes again. Even they told a different story about how she felt about him – she looked at him with longing, but a different longing to what he was used to seeing. He wondered what his own eyes showed her.

"You have beautiful eyes..." she breathed, stroking his cheekbone with her thumb.

"I was just about to tell you the same thing." he kissed her lips again, chastely, sighed and drew back, placing a final sort of kiss on her forehead.

"I guess we probably should head back..." she said slowly, her cheeks a bit pink as she looked at the ground by Keiran's ankle.

"Yeah... We don't want to be the first people to discover just how angry Paladins can get." He smiled and jumped to his feet, "come on then~"

Saphira laughed and let him help her up, "coming~"

* * *


	4. Part 4: DB PLS

For the record, I have about 300 pages of this story already written, I'm just uploading it when I feel like it.

Thank you to those who've read this far, hope you're enjoying it even a little. :D

Feel free to ask questions or leave comments, coz I love 'em.

I noticed, in the process of dividing this into chapters, that I end them with sleeping, and start them with waking up, nearly every time… I should stop doing that, lol.

Characters belong to their respective owners (mostly me), and I don't own Ragnarok, as much as I'd like to.

* * *

"Keiran, you fag, wake up!" someone shouted, hitting him repeatedly over the back of the head with something that felt like a pillow. "God damn you, don't make me miss this trip 'cause you couldn't get your fat arse out of bed in time..."

"Mmmuhhggh." Keiran said annoyedly, waving his arm around to fend off his attacker. He felt it connect with something and heard an 'ouch!' and the assault stopped, so, satisfied, he buried his face deeper into his pillow and tried to go back to sleep; back to the very nice dream he'd been having. What had it been about now..? Something about- No, it was gone... Damn it....

Something very hard bounced off his head.

"Ow FUCK OFF." he yelled, rolling over with his pillow raised to give whoever lost him his dream the hiding they deserved.

"Oh so_ now _you wake up,"Kiba was standing beside his bed, looking disgruntled and rubbing his hand, presumably from where it had met Keiran's elbow, "if I had known it was that easy I'd have thrown your boot at you earlier."

Keiran raised his pillow threateningly, "You'd better have a damn good reason for waking me up, Kiba."

"Why, were you having a nice dweam about Saphiwaaaa?" Kiba mocked, batting his eyelashes suggestively.

Keiran growled, beating him over the head with the pillow. Kiba had been less than nice recently when it came to him and Saphira... _Bros over hos, _he'd said. That was stupid - Keiran had been spending plenty of his time with the guys still, hadn't he? No one else complained... At least, not that he'd seen. And anyway – they had the whole of... the... DB event...

"OH SHIT!" he swore, very loudly, and leapt from bed, gathering his towel and uniform from where they'd been thrown the previous night, "what's the time?!"

"About 30 minutes before we leave for Izlude." Kiba said smugly.

Keiran dropped his towel again, no time for a shower!

"Why didn't Darius wake me?" he wailed, dragging his tunic over his head, not bothering to button it.

"He said he didn't want to wake you, 'cause you looked _peaceful."_ Kiba's smirk stretched a little more, "and then he forgot about you."

Keiran made a noise that sounded like 'fffff' and pulled on his pants, belting them up clumsily, "shit shit... Where's my sword?"

Kiba held out Keiran's wooden one.

"My _real_ sword."

"They haven't given them out yet. They're probably doing it now..."

Keiran stuffed his shoulder cloth into his bag along with his shin guards to put on later, thankful at least that he'd packed the rest of his stuff several days earlier in anticipation. It would have taken at least an hour to retrieve all his fieldtrip gear from under the bed.

Tugging on his boots he hobbled to the door, his pack slung over his shoulder, Kiba following close behind, "Oh sec." he said, turning and walking straight into Kiba, "sorry! I have to do my hair."

"What the-"

"Wait just a minute." Keiran said, rushing to the mirror with comb in hand.

"Oh my God, you're such a woman." Kiba groaned, face-palming.

Keiran ignored him, carefully picking his fringe out of the hair that he'd just combed back. "There," he said, standing back to admire the effect.

"15 minutes."

"Shit, right, coming." Keiran ruffled the back of his head experimentally, "I think I look better with the whole big-hair look, don't you?"

"I really don't care." Kiba said, grabbing his arm and dragging him from the room.

By the time they had run down to the courtyard, everyone was ready to go. The Paladins and most, if not all, of the Crusaders were on their pecopecos, which were calling excitedly to each other, fighting with their neighbours and trying to throw their riders off. In other words, it was chaos.

"Ah there you are, Keiran!" said Kuronosu, striding over to the panting swordsmen, looking even more impressive than usual, "we thought maybe you'd decided not to come." he grinned widely.

"No sir," Keiran managed, clutching his heaving chest. "Wouldn't... miss it... for the world... sir."

"That's the spirit." he patted Keiran on the back and shot Kiba a smile, "If you will just pop over to see Alyssa over there," he pointed to where the other swordies were, "she'll issue you a sword and shield for the day."

"Thank you, sir." Kiba said – apparently the sprint down the stairs hadn't taken as much out of _him_. _I'll have to start working out,_ Keiran decided sorrowfully.

Still wheezing, he and Kiba manoeuvred their way between pecos with some difficulty to the group of un-mounted people looking very out of place.

"Ah! Sleeping beauty has awoken!" Astarte cried, covering her mouth in mock surprise.

"Shut... up..." Keiran huffed, attempting to catch his breath without much luck.

"Wow you're unfit." Astarte raised an eyebrow at him, "how can you duel for two hours straight and not break a sweat but can't even run _down_ three flights of stairs?"

"Shh..." he managed, collapsing against a pillar.

She opened her mouth to say something else but Darius stepped in, holding up his hand to quieten her before turning to his friend, "are you okay?"

Keiran looked up at him, "yeah... just gotta catch, my breath."

"Sorry I didn't wake you up-" Darius started to explain; only to be interrupted by a female Paladin in full armour looking rather scary with her helmet and iron mask on. Her peco, in full armour too, followed her loyally; chewing on a bit of leather that looked like it had been pulled on some other peco's armour. She brandished a sheathed sword in Keiran's face, and he took it, breathing a thank you.

"What size shield do you want?" she asked briskly, shoving Kiba's sword into his arms.

"Er." they said.

"Okay, take these." she snatched a pair of shields known as Guards off the peco's back and dumped them on the ground in front of them. Then she mounted her peco surprisingly gracefully and zoomed off into the mob without a goodbye.

"Wow, she's a happy one." Kiba observed, picking up one of the guards and peered at it closely, "these don't look strong."

"It's better than nothing." said Darius, still watching Keiran anxiously as if he might drop dead at any moment.

Keiran straightened up slowly, finally able to breath without his lungs threatening to catch on fire, "urghh... Remind me not to try running again"

"Don't try running again." Astarte said smartly.

"Thanks..." Keiran buckled his new sword onto his sword belt and drew the blade.

"Whaaa yours is better than mine!" she whined, drawing her own.

That was true. Keiran's sword was old, but looked like it had been someone's prized possession at some point and as such was much less dented and scratched than the sword Astarte was holding, which looked like your average swordsman training sword.

Keiran noticed that the scabbard of the sword Kiba had been given matched Astarte's perfectly, as did Arthur's and the other swordsmen who were going. But Darius had a different sword completely. The black scabbard was long and narrow and curved slightly, with bright silver ornamentation decorating the tip and the fastenings, and the carefully wrapped hilt told him the sword was a katana, the type of sword that the warriors of Amatsu favoured. Keiran would have bet his left nut that the blade inside was immaculate, sharp and shiny - obviously _not _a sword that was handed out randomly to inexperienced swordsmen. Keiran suspected that Darius' dad had something to do with it.

"Sooooo," he said finally after having a mini duel with Astarte and discovering that the guards weren't as useless as they looked, "who else is coming?"

"The people you see, obviously."

Keiran looked around, "I see you, Darius, Arthur, Kiba, Blank and Match, Yule, Chaku and Nat." he pointed to each person as he named them.

"Well done." Astarte clapped sarcastically.

"Shiz and Chris are grounded still, and Saphira's... not coming," he said sadly, "what about Chakii?"

"She's not coming either – visiting her parents or something."

"Oh." he sulked a bit, remembering Saphira telling him last night that she wasn't going to Izlude with the rest of them, as her mother was having another baby and she really wanted her and Ilyn to be there. Keiran had agreed, but reluctantly - he'd been really looking forward to being out of Prontera with her... _Oh well,_ he thought, _we'll get another chance_.

His thoughts drifted to the previous night when he and Saphira had been in the library until the early hours of the morning. They had taken to hanging around in there after curfew, as it was warm and quiet and hardly anyone used it, although occasionally Darius would come in to get a new book and tell them off for kissing. Keiran would counter by asking if he'd rather they kissed in their bedroom instead.

Last night they had stayed there longer than usual, when Saphira's news had branched off into a full discussion about their families. He had learned that Saphira and her sister Ilyn were born two years apart to a Lord Knight and a High Priestess, both of which had given up adventuring early in favour of the domestic life. Saphira had admitted that she was scared for her mother having this baby, as she was now 37, and rather old to be having her third child. Keiran had reassured her and prayed with her, and then she had changed the subject and asked about his parents.

Keiran had told her about his parents - how he was the eldest son of a Creator and a Professor, and as his mother was quite important in the Sage guild, he didn't see her much. His dad was always busy too, creating potions at all hours of the day to sell in the store out the front of their house just out of the town centre. His brother, Caleb, was 10 years old and already starting to follow in his older brother footsteps - winking at the girls who came into the shop. Caleb shared his brother's dark blue hair, but had his mothers violet eyes and lovely long eyelashes. Saphira had ooh'd and ahh'd, giggled and listened carefully – just generally being a good audience, as usual…

"CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!!?" Kuronosu bellowed over all the noise, snapping Keiran from his recollection. He was standing on the top step leading into the castle, his armour gleaming brightly in the spring sunlight, his pecopeco standing beside him, looking like a living bulldozer with silver armour covering every inch of his huge body.

"We will be moving out very shortly!" he announced once the people at least were quiet, "If you haven't already, please mount up, check girths, stirrups, etc. It'll be a two hour ride, so make sure you're comfortable."

The collective height of the crowd lowered as the guild members who were already on pecos bent over to wrench the straps around their birds feathered chests tighter, causing a racket as pecos tried to bite their riders in protest, or started to walk away before they could get on board.

Kuronosu sighed dramatically, and waited for them to stop messing around. "I'd like 10 volunteers to share their pecopecos with a swordsman, please." he said sternly, obviously expecting resistance - no one ever wanted a tag-along.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Anyone?" Kuro looked around, "Just until we get out of Prontera."

A few people forced their way through the throng towards the swordies, and Kuro beamed at them, "Hoorah! Thank you very much! One, two- Six. Four more please!"

No one else volunteered, to Kuro's obvious distress; he pulled a face before saying "Okay. _I'll_ take one, and Hikari, Rogue and hmm… Komi, you can take one too."

As their new caregivers made their way over, an argument broke out between Yule, Natalie and Astarte over who was going on Kuro's peco while they jostled for position at the front of the group. The boys watched them in amusement and Chaku tried in vain to break it up.

Before long a group of ten Crusaders and Paladins and their pecopecos were standing in front of them, eyeing up the swordsmen and muttering to their neighbours.

"Now, now, it's not like they're any different from us" Kuro chided them, dragging Labyrinth forward by the reins. "If everyone will get on their pecos, I'll lift the swordsmen up in front, since we've all got so much luggage…" That they did – behind the saddle of each peco was a huge bulging pack, it looked like they were going camping rather than DBing.

Darius and Keiran were last in line. They watched as each of their friends were lifted easily by the Paladin and plonked on the peco's shoulders in front of the rider, to be whisked away and lost into the crowd.

"Have you got everything, Keiran?" Kuro asked him, looking at his incomplete and untidy uniform.

"Er… I think so, Sir" he said, checking the contents of his bag quickly.

"Are you sure? There's no going back once we're through those gates~" he said dramatically, gesturing at the town beyond them.

"Yes, I think so." Keiran paused, "er… I wouldn't be able to use the bathroom before we go, would I?"

Kuronosu nodded, laughing to himself, "Go on then! Maybe next time you won't stay up so late in the library with your girlfriend!"

Keiran stared.

"Go!" Kuro waved him away and turned to the remaining Paladin that had been designated swordsman carrying duty, "Hikari, will you bring him? I'll get the show on the road."

Hikari nodded and looked down at Keiran, who was shuffling backwards towards the door, and said quite mildly "hurry up then."

Keiran turned and ran.

_________________

"I … shouldn't have… run" Keiran muttered to himself as he emerged from the bathroom. He paused and listened – he could hear the sound of 50 or so pecopecos on the move; they didn't sound like they were in the courtyard anymore…

"Sob" he said, breaking into a jog, his bag bouncing uncomfortably on his shoulder.

"Keiran!" said a very surprised Saphira, coming down the stairs on his right as he ran past, "shouldn't you-"

"Sorry babe, in a hurry!" Keiran wailed, blowing her a kiss, "See you when I get back! I love you!"

He sprinted out of the castle, breathing heavily and not concentrating on where he was putting his feet. As a result he stumbled over the bottom step and only just stopped himself falling flat on his face.

"Whoa, slow up there," Hikari said in amusement, steering his peco expertly over to him, "We're not so far behind the others that you need to kill yourself over it."

"Oh…" Keiran wheezed, bent double with his hands on his knees.

"Come on over here, you can catch your breath on the move."

Keiran staggered to the peco's side, where it eyed him curiously, and stood, feeling lost, "how-?"

"Give me your bag."

Keiran did so and Hikari strapped it in onto the back of the saddle, then suddenly bent over and seized Keiran under the armpits with his huge gloved and armoured hands, and pulled him onto the peco in front of him as if he weighed no more than a child.

"Wow." Keiran said in awe, staring over his shoulder at the huge metallic bulk that was Hikari.

Hikari smiled briefly at him before leaning sideways (Keiran was sure he was going to fall off) and wrenching the girth of his saddle up another hole. His peco grunted in protest and sidestepped, causing Keiran to convulsively grab the peco's feathers, which in turn made him sidestep again.

"Oh, you've never ridden before?" Hikari said, straightening up and giving his peco a kick in the ribs to tell him to stand up.

Keiran shook his head, clinging tightly to the bird's neck as it tossed its head and fidgeted.

"Here, sit up." Hikari took a hold of the back of his tunic and pulled him up, wrapping an arm around Keiran's waist.

"Don't you need two hands to steer?" Keiran asked, feeling a lot more secure.

Hikari laughed, "I haven't used two hands for _years_."

"Oh…"

"Alright, are we sorted?" Hikari asked, readjusting his position.

"Yes, but… what do I hold on to?"

"Oh, anything. Not his feathers if you can help it." Hikari waited for Keiran for get hold of the strap on the front of the saddle, before whistling sharply to his peco, who stopped hopping up and down and stood stock still, every muscle in his agile body tensed so much they were shaking, "we're going fast – just a warning."

"Kay-"

Hikari whistled again, and like a bullet from a gun the peco was off; charging from the courtyard so fast Keiran swore he'd got windburn within the first three seconds.

Hikari laughed merrily as he manoeuvred his pecopeco easily through the pedestrians that were brave enough to venture back onto the streets after the near-entirety of the Crusaders guild had come through, and with no hands apparently - the reins were so loose they were tangling around Keiran's feet. Not that Keiran could see his feet, of course, since his eyes were watering so much from the pressure of the wind. He just clung on for dear life as the peco charged through town, weaving through the early morning shoppers as if he did it every day.

They charged straight out the city gates without slowing; Hikari yelled a greeting to the guards who shouted at him to be safe and then looked longingly after them.

The rest of the group were still a distance ahead, apparently moving very slowly.

With the goal in sight, Hikari's peco sped up – a feat Keiran hadn't thought possible, and darted towards them with his head stretched low in front of him, the tip of his beak almost touching the ground. They charged straight into the group, sending pecos and their riders scattering in all directions as the over-excited peco skidded to a halt, honking loudly in greeting to the other pecos, who clicked their beaks at him in irritation.

"Well that was fun!" Hikari exclaimed happily, letting go of Keiran who drooped immediately, threatening to fall off.

"Whoops~" Hikari half-giggled as he caught him again, seemingly high on adrenaline, "you 'right?"

"Fine…" Keiran muttered groggily, prising his frozen, shaking fingers from around the saddle strap as the pecopeco relaxed to a more normal walk beside another peco, who weaved his head in warning and tried to bite him.

"Oh stop it," the angry peco's rider said, swatting his neck with her reins, "Hikari you _have_ to enter the race this year - you're bound to win!"

Hikari grinned and said nothing, stretching his arms and fingers over Keiran's head. _No hands… _Keiran thought, grabbing for the strap again.

"Aww, I don't think your passenger enjoyed his ride." the crusader said teasingly.

"No, I don't think so either." Hikari peered down at him.

"Oh... it was fun." Keiran said, very unconvincingly.

"And that's why you're green, is it?"

"Yes. I go green when I'm having fun..."

Hikari laughed again. "You'll get used to it. If you want, I'll show you how to ride later. Properly" he added as Keiran tensed.

"Shh Hikari! You're not supposed to encourage them!" she said, glancing around to see if anyone else had heard.

Hikari shrugged his massive shoulders. "It can't hurt."

"On your head be it if he starts stealing rides!"

"Fair enough then." he grinned at her before turning back to Keiran, who was just starting to relax into the sideways rocking of the peco's walk – and starting to enjoy it.

"So you're Keiran, right?" he asked.

"Yeah." Keiran replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"I'm Hikari, if you didn't pick that up."

Hikari was a pretty sort of a guy; Keiran might have mistaken him for a girl in the dark - he had gently slanting blue eyes in a rounded face, perfect, flawless skin that was probably the envy of girls everywhere and straight white hair that was just long enough to tie back in a tiny ponytail, although after their mad dash across Prontera the majority of it had fallen out of the tie and was drifting around his face.

"Oh yeah!" Hikari exclaimed, spinning around to rummage through his pack, sending his peco staggering sideways to keep Hikari's weight centred. "Lord Ishikawa's son gave me this for you." He dropped a small bag into his arms.

"Darius did?" Keiran opened it with one hand, the other still clinging to the saddle strap. Inside were several pieces of fruit.

"Nice friend you've got. I would have let you starve." Hikari said, reaching around and taking an apple. "Consider it payment for the lift." he added, smirking as Keiran narrowed his eyes.

"Don't be a dick." the female Crusader said, still riding beside them, "if you wanted an apple that bad you should just go kill a poring instead of stealing from poor swordies, there's plenty of them." she waved her hand at the surrounding fields.

Keiran, munching on a pear, looked around properly for the first time. He'd never been south of Prontera before, only north. This side of Prontera was less grassy and green, with patches of bare sand that made wide, snaking paths across the landscape. There were more trees here however, clustered together at either sides of the paths, their new leaves rustling gently in the spring breeze that made the flower-filled grass under them ripple. Occasionally a squeaking noise could be heard, and a lunatic or poring would bounce off the path into a patch of grass, or stop and watch the procession with curious eyes.

"Looks like you guys can go kill stuff" Hikari said, sitting straight up and looking to the head of the group, "Look – Kuronosu's letting Lord Ishikawa's son off."

Keiran couldn't see a damn thing, but took his word for it, looking for the way down.

"Need help?" the Paladin asked, watching Keiran try and fail to get his leg over the bird's neck to slide off, trying to keep his balance with one hand, as the other was holding his pear.

"Um, please."

Hikari once again picked Keiran up by the armpits, and swung him lightly to the ground, "here's your stuff."

Keiran took it with his free hand, jumping back as Hikari's peco sidestepped again, frustrated by being held back when he wanted to keep walking.

"I'd seriously suggest you put your guards on first." Hikari said wisely, "or you'll be screwed if you encounter anything stronger than an andre."

Keiran was about to ask what an andre was when he was hit from the side, knocked to the ground and sat on by a very worked up swordsman, who sat down heavily across his stomach, causing Keiran to cough and splutter.

"You fucking bastard!" Blank yelled, inches from his face.

"Wha'd'I'do?" Keiran managed, trying to wriggle his wrists out of Blank's grasp.

"You _do _know who that is, right?!" Blank jerked his head over his shoulder at Hikari, who was watching them with an expression of mild curiosity.

"Yeah. He's Hikari. He told me so himself."

"_Sir_ Hikari, retard." He shifted his position, and Keiran groaned – Blank wasn't the slightest of people. "What were you thinking, getting on his peco?"

"I was thinking it was mighty high off the ground."

"Don't be a fucking smartarse!"

"What'm I supposed to say?!" Keiran had no idea where Blank was coming from or going with this conversation.

"You don't just fucking hop on the peco with one of _the greatest_ peco masters _ever _and go for a bloody joy ride!"

Keiran looked over at Hikari who was obviously listening, even though he was pretending otherwise, as he was looking very smug as he fed his peco an apple core.

"Oh, so you're jealous?"

Blank tensed.

"You're more than welcome to him. Handsome as he may be, I don't go for guys," Keiran said breezily before Blank could reply. He heard Hikari snort into his peco's neck.

Expecting to be strangled, or at the very least yelled at for this comment, Keiran was extremely taken aback when Blank went a very interesting shade of purple and turned away. _What the fuck_.

"...It's not like I had much choice in the matter, anyway. Not," Keiran said "that I'm ungrateful for the ride."

Blank glared down at him. "You just watch yourself," he hissed, before getting to his feet and storming off.

Keiran slowly picked himself up, dusting off his pants. "What the shit was that about?" he asked no one in particular.

"I would tell you my suspicions, but I think you'll be able to work it out for yourself soon enough." said Hikari, looking most superior as his peco strutted past. "If you need me, yell. I'll be over there."

He left a confused Keiran standing there and jogged off into the crowd.

Their huge group was milling around, with people and pecos sprawled on the grassy patches having breakfast or racing each other through the trees, chasing unfortunate lunatics. One nearby Crusader girl was crouched in the grass, her peco peering over her shoulder as she tempted a curious lunatic out of its hole with a multi-coloured carrot.

Still trying to work out what Blank's problem was, Keiran sighed and plonked himself down in the grass, retrieving his bag from where he'd dropped it, and began strapping on his shin and arm guards.

He was just pulling on his leather gloves when Darius arrived at his side, wearing his usual smile. Keiran greeted him with a raised hand, "yo."

"Good ride?" Darius asked, dumping Keiran's guard beside him.

"Cheers. Yeah, wasn't too bad. Just had the slight downside of feeling like I was _going to die_ the whole time."

Darius chuckled, "Hikari is known to be a bit reckless."

"A _bit?_" Keiran said incredulously, "he was running it through town at like a million miles an hour, with _no hands_!"

"That sounds about right." Darius grinned, "But the peco did actually have a bridle on today."

"You mean he rides _without a bridle_?" Keiran felt ill just thinking about it, "how does he stop it?"

"The peco? I don't know."

"Madness!"

"Not really, it's much kinder to the pecopeco."

"They're all mad!" Keiran wailed, ignoring Darius, who was trying to tell him that pecos and their riders shared special bonds, blah, blah.

"RIGHT." Keiran cut across Darius' speech about '_natural_ pecopeco mastery' and leapt to his feet, brandishing his shield "let's go kill something!"

"I am somewhat worried by the glint in your eyes when you said that." Darius said, unfazed by his friend's inability to listen.

"Shut up! Let's go!"

Under the watchful eye of a Paladin, Keiran led Darius to a likely looking patch of bushes and started poking around in it with his sword.

Darius watched him amusedly, "what are you doing?"

"I dunno. Looking for stuff to kill?" Keiran stopped mutilating the bush and looked around at him. "Help me out?"

"Why?"

"'cause that's what friends are supposed to do."

"Why don't you just kill that?" Darius pointed at what looked to Keiran like a patch of raised dirt.

"'cause it's _dirt, _Darius. Put your glasses on." Keiran rolled his eyes.

"I think it's time you invested in some yourself, Keiran." Darius drew his sword and started towards the dirt patch.

"Where're you-" Keiran stopped, staring at the pile of dirt, which was _moving. _"Oh wow, that's some funky dirt."

"It's not dirt, Keiran." Darius sighed.

"Sure looks like it to me."

"Come here and look."

Keiran extracted himself from the bush and went to stand beside Darius.

"It appears to be a yellow poring," he said thickly, squinting at the jelly-like monster which said 'bloop' and bounced a few paces further away.

"It's a drops," Darius said informatively.

"A yellow poring." Keiran insisted.

"A drops is a yellow poring, yes. They live in sandy areas such as this."

Keiran shifted his grip on his sword, grinning evilly "ca'i kill the yellow poring?"

Darius sighed, "If you must."

"YAY!"

The drops must have felt his murderous aura approaching – it had stopped nosing at a clump of grass and was now bouncing rather quickly in the direction of the trees, Keiran in hot pursuit.

Darius sighed again and followed them into the trees, drawing his sword from its sheath as he did.

"I lost it!" Keiran wailed as Darius caught up. He was standing in front of a huge, thorn-covered bush – typically, the drops had gone under it.

"Is it in there?" Darius asked, nodding at the bush.

"I think so." He pouted.

Darius adjusted his grip on his katana (Keiran had been right, the blade was very shiny), and pointed his free hand at the bush, palm facing forward, "provoke."

The bush rustled once, then again, and the drops hopped out, looking very angry. It was moving straight towards Darius.

"Wow, you can use provoke?" Keiran blurted out in amazement, then realised it was a stupid question – Darius could do anything. "It never works when I try."

"Did you want to kill this?" Darius asked with a slight smile, fending the drops off his legs with his shield.

"Oh yeah." Keiran rushed over and stabbed it in the back, feeling a little cruel. The unfortunate drops popped like a balloon, splattering both boys in an orangey-yellow fluid that smelled strongly of oranges.

"Mm... yummeh." Keiran said dryly, wiping a bit off his cheek with the back of his glove; it was sticky. "Now I really need a shower."

He looked at Darius, who was staring at the sad remains of the drops in amazement.

"It's not like it's any different from a dead poring, Darius. Just 'cause it's yellow."

"No, look, Keiran." Darius was pointing now.

"Jesus, seriously..." Keiran glanced down anyway and did a double take, "oh _wow_."

"Pick it up, quick."

"It's not going to run away."

"Maybe not by itself, but if a poring runs off with it we'll never get it back."

Keiran squatted down and carefully poked aside a lump of jelly with a stick, revealing a small, brown piece of card. He picked it up, wiping some sludge off.

"I don't believe it... You actually got a card on your first drops kill." Darius stared at the card in wonder, "people can spend_ years_ hunting those."

Keiran turned it over and over in his hands. On one side was a cute drawing of a drops monster slurping something out of a cup through a straw, and on the other it said 'DEX+1 HIT+3, compound on weapons'.

"If you sold that, you would be able to get those incubus horns you wanted." Darius looked animated, his eyes wide, making him look several years younger than 18.

"Why do you keep saying '_you_' like that?" Keiran asked peevishly.

"You killed the drops - it's your card."

"You helped! You should have it. I'd never have got it if you hadn't provoked it out from that bush."

"I don't want it." Darius tried a different tack.

"Take it!" Keiran thrust the card at Darius' chest.

Darius shoved it back, "no, it's yours."

"Take it, you fucking wanker."

"Swearing at me isn't going to help. I won't take it." Darius raised his eyebrows, pushing the card away again.

"Take it, or I'll- I'll..." Keiran looked around for inspiration, "throw you in the bush!"

Darius laughed, "I'd like to see you try." However he gave the bush an uneasy look – it did have very long spines.

Keiran lunged at him, and he stepped nimbly backwards. "Stand still!" he ordered, knowing full well that if Darius ran he'd never be able to catch him – he was a far better runner.

"I'll stand still when you accept that the card is yours." Darius said, jumping back again.

"Fine I'll keep it!" Keiran took another swipe at him. He sidestepped.

"Then why are you still trying to catch me?"

"Shut up and take it!"

Darius suddenly snatched the card from Keiran unresisting fingers, "okay."

Keiran blinked, "'the hell?"

Darius smiled a not altogether nice smile and pocketed the piece of card, turning on his heel and heading for the open field.

"Seriously, what the hell?" Keiran said, jogging after him, his sword scabbard bouncing on his hip "Was 'shut up' like the magic word or something?"

"Magic phrase, you mean." Darius said shrewdly, not looking at him.

"Gimme the card, I don't trust you." Keiran demanded, holding out his hand.

Darius raised his eyebrows, still avoiding eye contact, and said nothing.

"Dariuuussssss!" he wailed.

Darius sniggered.

"Who are you and what did you do with my best friend?" Keiran asked, horrified.

At that moment a mounted female Paladin burst out of the trees beside them, her hair in disarray and full of twigs. She had a cut across one cheek that was bleeding slightly.

"Ah, there you are," she said, not sounding too bothered. "What were you doing in the bushes?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Keiran said without thinking.

"Oh, were you making out? Sorry to interrupt." She daintily plucked a twig off her peco's neck and dropped it onto the floor, apparently unaware that she herself resembled a talking bush.

"As a matter of fact, we were."

The Paladin's mouth opened in surprise.

"_Keiran,_" Darius sighed, shoving him out of the way. "Did you need us for something?"

The Paladin quit gaping and cleared her throat, "yes. We've received word that the knight's guild is waiting for us further south, so we'll be moving on soon."

"Okay, thank you very much." Darius smiled up at her. "We're on our way."

She blushed, muttered something inaudible and turned her peco in the direction of the party, giving it a nudge with her heels.

When she was out of sight, Darius rounded on Keiran, who was sniggering. "_What_ is your problem?"

"Aw come on! It's _funny!_ Did you _see _her face?" Keiran snickered, jogging after him as he followed the trail the Paladin's pecopeco had made through the bushes.

"Yes I did."

"..." Keiran sighed.

"By the way, what did you say to Blank earlier?" Darius asked suddenly. "He looked really worked up."

"_Me?" _Keiran spluttered, "What did _I_ say?"

"Keiran-"

"_I_ didn't say anything, so don't look at me like that!"

"Then why-"

"He jumped me an' got all huffy 'cause I got to ride with Hikari. So I told him he was most welcome to him an' he went all weird an' _didn't_ swear at me." Keiran said, very quickly. "Then he ran away," he added as an afterthought.

"_Oh_." Darius looked as if he understood the situation better than Keiran did. He sighed "You really don't think before you open your mouth, do you?"

"No, that wouldn't be half as interesting." Keiran said breezily,"Do _you _know what his crisis is then?"

"Yes."

"Tell me?" Keiran was jogging backwards in front of Darius now.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's none of your business."

"And it's yours?" he said incredulously.

"No."

"But you know?"

"Yes, obviously," Darius said. "If you keep that up you're going to trip."

"Lies," Keiran said, just as he stuck his foot down a lunatic hole and fell over.

Darius stopped walking and looked down at him sitting on his butt in a pile of leaves, his mouth twitching as he tried to keep it straight.

Keiran pouted, "... Go on."

"What?" He smirked.

"Say it. I know you want to." Keiran snapped a twig into pieces sulkily, still sitting up to his elbows in leaves.

"Told you so," Darius said, looking very pleased with himself.

"There you go. Bet you feel _so_ much better now."

Darius grinned and taking Keiran's outstretched hands, pulled him to his feet.

"I did tell you-" he started, watching Keiran brushing dirt off his pants.

"Yes, I know." He couldn't help but feel just a little ticked off at Darius, even though it wasn't his fault.

"You missed one." Darius plucked a leaf off his back as they resumed walking.

"Thanks."

"No injuries?"

"Only my ego." Keiran snapped a small branch off a tree on the way past, stripping the leaves off it one by one.

Darius didn't pursue the matter and they walked in silence for a while, the only noise the sound of the wind through the trees.

"... Are we actually going the right way?" Keiran asked, "I'm sure we didn't go _that _far into the trees."

"Hmm," said Darius.

"Are we lost?"

"Mm."

"Was that an 'mm' as in 'yes, we're lost'?"

"Mm."

Keiran groaned and threw up his hands, "Oh great! Lost in the forest with only a mute straight guy for company! ... What's that noise?"

With a huge crash, a pecopeco came charging onto the track.

"Looks like you don't have to be stranded with me after all" Darius said.

Keiran stared up at the rider as the peco skidded to a halt beside them and his heart sank; it was Breakthru. He wished nothing more than to disappear right then - spending the rest of his life in a forest with Darius was sounding like Heaven in comparison to having to face this Paladin.

"..." Breakthru said, holding his snorting peco back with one hand and looking irritably down at them, "where were you going?"

Keiran bit back a smart comment and nudged Darius.

"We got lost, Sir."

His expression didn't change. "Come here."

The swordsmen shuffled forwards obediently and, with even less effort and a lot less care than Hikari, he scooped them up one at a time and dumped them onto his peco's neck.

Without waiting for them to get sorted, Breakthru stuck his heels into his peco's sides and it leapt forward into a run. Keiran flung his arms around Darius, who was in front of him, and Darius was left clinging to Breakthru's arms, which were holding the reins around his waist.

It was not a comfortable ride.

After riding through the forest for about five minutes in the opposite direction to where Keiran and Darius had been walking, they emerged onto the open field. The rest of the party was still some distance away, nearing the gates to Izlude – presumably they had left the swordsmen behind when they'd failed to show up, and sent Breakthru back for them.

The landscape here no longer looked like Prontera; there were no more forests, only the occasional lone patch of sorry-looking trees clinging to the increasingly more sandy ground. As they rode over a ridge, it became obvious that they were getting closer to Morroc, the desert town – in the distance, all the way to the horizon, there was nothing but sand, and the smooth plains of Prontera gave way to hills and shallow cliffs.

It all looked very hot.

Breakthru steered his peco around the outskirts of the Crusader's group to the very front, where Kuronosu was scanning the surrounding area with a frown while he talked with Killjoy, who was riding beside him. As they approached he fixed his gaze on them, smiling slightly. Killjoy broke off mid-sentence and dropped back.

"Ahh, thank you, Break" Kuronosu said, looking a bit sheepish, "I keep making you baby-sit, I'm very sorry."

Breakthru grunted in reply, looking away.

"Here – Give me Darius, and um" he looked around, "Hikari, will you take Keiran again?"

Keiran looked around in surprise, he hadn't noticed Hikari was there until Kuronosu beckoned him forwards; he had suddenly gained a flashy helm that hid his hair and shaded his eyes. It looked very expensive.

"Sure thing" he said, flashing a smile at Keiran, who randomly realised with a start that he still had his arms around Darius' slim waist.

"Oh, sorry" he muttered, carefully letting him go.

"I was wondering how I was going to switch pecos with you hanging onto me." Darius said amusedly, flexing his shoulders.

"I would have just dragged him over too," Kuro said mildly, plucking Darius from in front of Keiran and setting him down on Labyrinth's shoulders, moving the peco aside so Hikari could collect Keiran.

He was starting to feel very small, being lifted around so easily all the time. These people, with the exception of Breakthru, were only a few years older than himself, but so much stronger - Keiran would be overjoyed if he became even half as strong as them...

Seated back on Hikari's peco, holding onto the saddle strap, Keiran relaxed a bit. He still wasn't completely comfortable with the lack of ... _stuff_ to hold onto, or with Hikari's extreme confidence in riding, but being in front of Hikari was a lot less scary than being in front of Breakthru. The Paladin, once released of the swordsmen, had nodded briefly to Kuronosu, turned his peco roughly and stormed off into the crowd.

Watching him go, Hikari sighed "no idea what his problem is these days..."

Kuronosu looked thoughtful as he collected up his reins on either side of Darius, "leave him alone, he'll sort himself out."

"I wasn't planning on pestering him."

"I realise that." Kuronosu grinned and lightly nudged his peco; Labyrinth struck off quietly into a long walk.

Hikari's peco tossed his head and jogged past him, so he was in the lead. Once he was convinced no one else was going to come challenge his position, he also settled into a walk.

"Is Breakthru not always like that?" Keiran asked, and then regretted it, feeling like he was being rude.

However Hikari didn't seem to mind. "He's always been the cold, silent type... But recently he's been a bit more angry than usual." He pushed the visor of his helm a little higher up, scowling, "I just wish he'd stop taking it out on Am."

"Am?"

"Amatsu, his peco."

_A peco named after a town, who'd have thought..._

"He isn't used to that sort of treatment..." Hikari continued soberly, "It's only a matter of time before he snaps and hurts someone."

"You think he would?" Keiran asked in surprise.

Looking down at him with sad eyes, he said quietly, "Wouldn't you?"

_If someone I thought I knew and trusted suddenly came out one day and started treating me like dirt for no reason? _Keiran thought, _Yes, I'd snap._

"You like pecos a lot, don't you sir?" Keiran asked over his shoulder.

"Yes. They're the reason I became a Paladin." he said, his tone lightening somewhat, "I'd hoped to change the way the pecos were ridden."

"Have you had any luck?"

"I like to think so." Hikari's leg moved very slightly under Keiran's as he gave his peco a barely noticeable aid to turn right and go widely around a hole in the ground, his reins still loose around his neck. The peco moved exactly as he told it. "Certainly, the pecos I've trained are a lot more willing."

"I can see that…" Keiran murmured, stunned.

"It's not that they were trained cruelly before – that would never be allowed..." Hikari appeared, to Keiran, to be talking mostly to himself now; either that or Keiran's brain was starting to shut down in preparation for a lecture.

He found himself thinking of Saphira, as he often did when his mind wandered – it surprised him, and made him feel a little guilty that he hadn't thought of her all that much today.

_I said 'I love you' to her._ He remembered with a start. It had been a spirit of the moment thing, but he'd said it... And meant it. What had she thought of that? She hadn't said it back; did that mean she didn't feel the same way? He hadn't exactly given her much chance though...

"No one ever believes you when you tell them how much of a difference it makes, riding naturally." Hikari was saying.

What was she doing right now? Was she thinking of him? Had her mother had her baby yet? Was she okay, was the baby okay? A million questions popped into his head, one after another. His gut wrenched with fear for her, and for her mother, and it must have shown on his face;

"Are you okay?" Hikari asked anxiously, "You look like you're about to puke."

Keiran shook his head to clear it, and didn't look around, "I'm okay, I was just thinking too hard…"

Hikari gave him a last concerned glance and then looked over Keiran's head. "Look, there's the Knights guild," he said.

Sitting up and clinging to Hikari's armoured leg for support, Keiran looked in the direction he was pointing, and felt his breath catch as they rode over a ridge.

Spread across the slight valley below was a glittering, silver sea of armoured bodies, packed tightly together, their armour so bright it was painful to look at as the sun shone down.

Hikari's peco threw back his head and called out; the sea rippled as every single feathered head turned to look up at him.

It suddenly got very loud.

"Oh my God, what a racket." Kuronosu said with a smile as he rode up beside them, peering down at the honking pecos. "A good turnout on both sides, it seems…" In front of him Darius' face was a picture of amazement; his mouth was even open.

"Shall I go down to them?" Hikari offered, actually holding onto his peco's reins to prevent him leaping off the cliff. Keiran was praying that he wouldn't.

"No need." Kuro gestured down at the Knights, who were starting to move. As they watched, one peco broke ahead of the others, and weaved its way up the hill towards them at an impressive rate, the rider leaning forward in the saddle. They seemed to be holding something…

_Someone_. There were two people on the pecopeco; a Lord Knight and a swordsman. The Lord Knight had one arm tightly around the swordsman's waist while the other expertly steered his peco.

Kuronosu rode forward to meet him as he came over the last ridge, sweeping off his deviruchi hat and bowing his head, smiling widely, "Philip."

The Lord Knight was grinning hugely as he returned the gesture, handing his steel helm to the boy sitting in front of him, "Kuro, my friend!" He threw down his reins and the panting peco walked up to Labyrinth and nudged his chest with its beak. Labyrinth honked and nudged it back lightly, as the knight's peco was about half his size – shorter in height and in body length.

Keiran looked up from the pecos in time to see the Lord Knight and Paladin grasp forearms and pull each other into a huge hug, narrowly avoiding squashing their passengers between them, and slap each other on the back, laughing loudly.

The Lord Knight, Philip, was probably around 40 years old, but still handsome in a rugged way, with his stubbly chin and square jaw. He had shoulder length blonde hair that curled, sticking up in all directions. His eyes were a similar colour to Darius' hair – a bright blue like the sky on a clear day, and they crinkled at the edges when he smiled.

The boy sitting calmly on the peco as if he had been born to sit there looked like a younger version of him - his hair cut slightly shorter, his jaw more rounded, but he had the same smiling eyes, and even had a little stubble. He was looking at Darius curiously, a smile on his handsome face.

"I don't believe you've met my son, Alexander?" the Lord Knight asked, clapping the boy on the shoulder - he barely moved.

"No, I can't say I've had that honour." Kuronosu smiled down at him, and he tore his eyes away from Darius to grin back.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir," Alexander said, bowing respectfully.

"So polite!" The Paladin exclaimed.

"Just like his mother." Philip ruffled the boy's hair fondly with one huge hand. "He looks a lot like her too, don't you think?"

"No, no, I'd say he certainly looks more like you." Kuro said, quite honestly.

Philip laughed, and then looked at Darius, "and who's this? Is he yours?"

It was Kuronosu's turn to laugh. "Mine? No, Darius is Lord Ishikawa's son."

"Ah! The heir!" The Lord Knight looked surprised, "you've grown so much." He bowed. "Of course, you won't remember me, you were just a baby when I saw you last."

Darius said nothing and smiled, politely confused.

"I hope you and Alex can be best friends."

Keiran bristled. Darius was _his_ best friend.

"Was Lord Ishikawa able to come today? I haven't seen him for a long time…" Philip said, scanning the rows of riders who were hovering nearby, watching and waiting.

"Unfortunately not," Kuro said with a small sigh, "he had urgent business to attend to at the King's castle."

The Lord Knight's smile slipped a little. "That's a shame. I would have liked to catch up."

_Obviously_, Keiran thought to himself, _it's not just our guild that never sees him._ He tended to forget that Sir Kuronosu was their second in command, and not their guild leader, since he hadn't even seen Lord Ishikawa, but Kuronosu was always there, taking charge. He probably would have thought they were making him up – that Lord Ishikawa didn't exist – except for the fact that Darius had also said his father was very busy at the moment and didn't have much time to spend at the guild castle.

"Shall we get this show on the road?" Kuro said, gathering his reins again as the first of the Knight's guild came over the ridge.

Philip nodded. "Lead on."

"Hikari, would you and Keiran be so good as to ride ahead and find the easiest way down?"

_Why do I have to go too_? Keiran wailed in his head, shooting a glance from Darius to Alexander. _I don't trust him._

"Yessir." Hikari saluted and nudged his jogging peco forwards, Keiran clinging to the strap which by now probably had permanent dents from his fingers on it.

They carefully went around the Knights milling at the top of the cliff and continued down the path at a trot.

"Did you want to try?" Hikari asked when they were out of hearing range.

"Try?"

"Riding. With you in control."

"But aren't we supposed to be finding the way down?"

"Yes. If you steer, I can look, you see?"

Keiran cringed, "no, no I couldn't-"

"Oh come on. Sei won't mind."

As he protested weakly, Hikari forced the reins into his hands, holding them closed with his own.

His pecopeco had stopped, his head tilted to the side as if he knew something interesting was happening.

"Okay, Sei's trained to listen to the slightest of touches, so you shouldn't have a problem." Hikari said breezily. Keiran noticed he'd moved further back on the saddle, so Keiran was sitting just about in the middle; his legs were now against the bird's sides instead of resting on Hikari's.

"So…" Keiran said nervously, but he could feel the excitement building in his chest.

"Just give him a little squeeze with your lower legs. Not too hard though."

Keiran nudged the peco lightly, and Sei took a step forward, and stopped.

"Ah…" Hikari said, grinning, "He's going to play a little game with you." He looked down at Keiran's hands, "you might want to loosen your grip a bit."

He was holding on so tightly his knuckles had gone white. Slowly, he willed himself to relax and gave the peco another nudge. The change was immediate. Sei dropped his head and walked forward – and kept walking.

A goofy grin spread across Keiran's face unbidden, _I'm riding a peco!_

Hikari laughed, "Give him another nudge; we'll need to pick up the pace."

At another light touch, Sei broke into a jog, Keiran bouncing around like a sack of potatoes on his back. He was slipping sideways... and he started to panic, clutching the reins tightly as if they'd somehow stop him falling to the dusty ground below.

"You're alright – I've got you." Hikari said bracingly.

And so he did. Keiran had failed to notice that the Paladin's arms were now around his waist loosely, just tight enough to form a ring that, if touched, would push him back up straight.

Feeling more secure, he looked ahead. There was something very exciting about seeing the landscape over the top of the peco's head, now that he was in control. _In control_, _hardly. _He was perfectly aware that if Sei felt so inclined, he could throw him in one of the gullies with as little effort as it took Keiran to stand up. He felt a newfound respect for the animals, and for their trainers – they must really be talented to get such powerful creatures to be as tame and willing as a puppy.

"Go left down here." Hikari said in his ear.

Keiran gave the left rein a light pull and the peco turned his head, then turned his body as Hikari's legs moved behind him, heading down a larger path to the left, avoiding a nasty looking clump of thorny bushes.

"What did you do with your legs just now?" Keiran asked curiously.

"I gave him some leg aids, to help him understand what we wanted," Hikari said simply, before continuing with a more complicated description, "To turn left, we put our left leg back and tell him to move his tail _around _by_ pushing_ it over. Our right leg stays still or moves slightly forwards, and acts as a wall. Watch carefully."

As Keiran twisted awkwardly in the saddle to see what he was being shown, Hikari shifted his legs as he had described, and Sei turned tightly in a complete circle. Keiran completely missed seeing the aids, too busy trying to stay on, but took his word for it – eager to try it out himself.

Still jogging, the peco continued down the path, which was starting to narrow as the cliff face on their left came in to meet the shallow drop on their right. Before it got too narrow for three pecos to travel side-by-side however, there was a sort of ramp heading down onto the flat, open desert, formed by a few fallen trees that had been mostly buried in dirt and sand over the years.

"Okay," said Hikari, scanning the desert ahead, "we need to head back. This way's fine."

Keiran pulled lightly on the reins, and Sei slowed to a walk, his eyes also focused on the open sandy plains.

"Let's see you turn him." The Paladin smiled and took his legs off the peco's sides completely, making it clear he wasn't going to help out this time.

Swallowing his anxiety, Keiran shortened his left rein; Sei turned his head and looked at him questioningly. _Left leg back, right forward._ He moved his legs; the peco shifted his weight. Keiran pushed with his left leg, feeling very feeble, and to his surprise, Sei turned his whole body to the left a bit.

"And again." Hikari said, sounding pleased.

Keiran repeated the aids, and Sei swivelled around to face back the way they'd come. Puffed, he relaxed his shaking legs – who'd have thought it was so much hard work just to steer?

Hikari clapped him on the shoulder, "Well done! Onwards!"

Grinning weakly, Keiran gave the peco a harder squeeze, and Sei jumped into a faster jog. _I'm getting the hang of this..._

They weaved their way back through the valley, sending up a poof of sand with each footfall. When the sounds of the group became audible over a ridge, Hikari gently took the reins out of his hands, inching forwards so he was centred properly again.

Keiran didn't mind - he was exhausted, and thankfully leant back against the Paladin's plated chest, which wasn't comfortable, but the cool metal against his back felt nice. He closed his eyes, safe with Hikari's arm around him, imagining the peco's huge clawed feet hitting the ground, listening to Hikari's even, controlled breathing in time with the movement of the bird. _One day, I'd like to be able to ride like him..._

"Ho there!" someone shouted, snapping Keiran awake harshly.

He looked up; they were only a few metres away from the group... Which was _huge_.They filled the whole valley from wall to wall, and spread far into the distance, a massive dust cloud following them like some hungry monster.

"Wow" he said thickly.

"Impressive, isn't it," Hikari agreed, slowing Sei to a walk – Keiran didn't notice his aids at all. They rode in a circle and came up beside Kuronosu.

"All clear ahead, Sir. The path is fairly obvious."

Kuronosu beamed. "Thank you Hikari, you're a great help."

"Not at all, Sir." Hikari bowed his head.

"No need to be so formal." Kuronosu scolded lightly. "How long have we been friends? Just because I became 2IC, doesn't change anything between us, okay?"

"Sorry Si- sorry. Kuro." He smiled sheepishly. Somehow the expression didn't fit his face, which was usually so confident. Well, from what Keiran had seen, anyway.

He wished very much to get off the peco and sit with Darius and his other friends for a while in some shade, his butt was getting very numb, he had a headache... and he was suddenly feeling very, _very _reluctant to move.

"What did you do to Keiran?" Kuronosu asked Hikari, his eyebrows raised.

Hikari looked down at him, still slouched against his chest, as limp as a doll, eyes half-closed "nothing..?"

"He looks sick." Darius said anxiously. When Keiran managed to focus on him, he was looking like he wanted to jump off the peco and go to him. He smiled.

"Keiran?"

_Kuronosu? _he wanted to say, in a stupid voice, instead he said, "yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

He shook his head dismissively, sending a jolt through his head, "Urgh. Yeah. Just a headache... tired..."

"_Hikari_. Did you let him ride?"

Hikari's voice sounded shocked, mystified, "yeah, but I don't see how-"

"There is a reason swordsmen aren't given pecos." Kuronosu said, although he didn't sound angry at all. "They don't have the energy."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"He might have sunstroke." Philip's strong voice cut in. Keiran twisted his head away, resting his temple on Hikari's armour. _Shut up, you're too loud. _"This area can do that. Give him some water."

Water did sound good... But sleep sounded better. _Stupid headache_... Something was being pressed into his hand and he took it, only because it was cold.

"Keiran, drink that, it'll help." Hikari said uneasily, close to his ear. The hands around him were softer, soothing, but still holding him up – without them he knew he'd slip from the peco's back like a water balloon.

_That involves moving_... he thought sulkily as he forced his head up, wincing as the sunlight hit his eyelids through his fringe. At the Paladin's urging he raised the canteen of water, slopping a good portion of it down his front before he finally got it in his mouth.

It was slightly warm, but felt good as it ran down his throat, and he quickly finished the whole bottle.

He leant his head back on the Paladin's chest as the empty canteen was taken from his grasp, eyes closed. Suddenly the sun didn't feel _quite_ so hot, or so painful on his cheeks.

"He looks better already." Alex's voice said. Keiran noticed mildly that it was nearly as powerful as his father's already, but had a sort of singing quality to it, as if he found Keiran's crisis to be somewhat amusing. Maybe he did...

There was a sound like an approaching peco, a big one, and another, deeper voice spoke. Keiran didn't even have to think to recognise who it belonged to; it was Killjoy – no one else sounded like they could cause earthquakes just by talking. "We should keep moving, or we'll still be out after dark," he rumbled. "What's wrong with him?"

"Just a touch of sunstroke, we think." said Kuronosu.

_I'm not dead, you know..._ Keiran thought sulkily. _I can still hear you..._

"Did you give him water?"

"Yeah."

Killjoy didn't reply that Keiran heard anyway. He did however hear peco footsteps moving away on all sides.

Suddenly he was swaying, and it took a minute for him to realise the peco beneath him was moving again. He opened his eyes slightly, immediately wishing he hadn't – he was looking down at the ground, which was blurring as they rode over it. He groaned, feeling ill, and pulled himself up straighter.

"Are you feeling better?" Hikari asked quietly.

"A little" Keiran murmured. It no longer seemed too much hard work to raise his head, but the headache wasn't going away.

"There's more water if you want it."

Keiran nodded, and another canteen was pressed into his hand. He wondered briefly if his body's sudden objection to sunlight was depriving anyone of their water supply. _Hopefully not, _he thought, taking a long drink. This water was cooler than the last one had been, and even more refreshing.

"Just a little longer and you'll have some shade to sit in." Hikari promised.

_Shade, in a desert, right... Why are we even having this event in the desert?_ This question had been bugging him for a while. There was a perfectly good DB room in Prontera, why not use that?

"Because," Hikari said when Keiran voiced his concerns, sounding relieved that he was talking again, and didn't blame him, "there are well over a hundred of us here, nearly all mounted at that; we simply wouldn't fit, and could you imagine the mess?" He chuckled, "No, it's far easier to do it out here, where it's unlikely anyone will stumble across us, and we can easily keep an eye on each other."

"Ah." Keiran fell silent, closing his eyes again.


	5. Part 5: DB PLS 2

More sleeping! Hoorah~! ;D

Thanks for reading~ Love ya.

Characters belong to their respective owners (mainly me), and I don't own Ragnarok.

* * *

He must have nodded off, because next time he opened his eyes, the party were off the cliffs, riding across the open desert towards what looked to be-

"Grass?" he said, relieved to hear that his voice sounded normal again, not like he was trying to speak through a pillow.

Hikari jumped, then peered down at him, smiling. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I think I was." Keiran rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, yawning widely. "My butt hurts."

Laughing, Hikari shifted position in the saddle; maybe his backside had gone numb too. "Not long now, don't worry. We're just going out to the oasis, so we have water available."

"So I'm not seeing things? There is grass out there?"

"Sure is. And trees."

Trees! Shade! Yay!

He fixed his eyes on the green patch in the distance, willing it to come faster. In fact it took about five minutes to get to the oasis, during which Keiran only took his eyes off it to stare as a single knight pecopeco ran past at top speed, the rider clinging to what appeared to be an unconscious swordsman and urging the peco on with flicks on the reins and frantic shouts.

"Looks like you weren't the only one who couldn't handle the sun..." Hikari said thoughtfully, watching the knight leap from her peco's back and splash water on the swordsman's face while her peco slurped noisily from the lake, "it must be the sudden transition from the mild spring sun in the city to full power desert sun in the middle of the day..."

_I'm sure you could have said that in a simpler way._ "Possibly, sir." Keiran was feeling a lot better after his power nap, his headache had faded to a dull throb, which he was confident would fade after a while in the shade. _Aaaah shade..._

There it was, so close now. He wanted so badly to jump off and run to it – the patches of trees, their leaves actually green, throwing cool shadows over soft-looking grass and over the banks of a huge waterhole, its waters looking just as inviting.

He must have been leaning towards it, because Hikari's grip around his waist tightened and he was pulled back, banging his shoulder painfully against the Paladin's armour.

"Hold on just a sec." Hikari said, "Kuro will want to say a few things."

That he did. He rode Labyrinth to the highest patch of ground he could find – a raised bank in front of the water, followed closely by Philip who was nodding in a reassuring way, "Attention please!"

It took a long time for everyone to settle, and even then there was a lot of noise as pecos tried to get to the water and bashed into their neighbours. It happened in a sort of ripple, with the people in front shushing those behind them, and them in turn hushing the people behind _them_.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming today! God bless you all! I shall save formal speeches and thanks for later, when our feathered friends are tucked up in bed and we can hear ourselves think over them!" there was a ripple of laughter across those within hearing range. "Please! When I say go, I would like the guild's DBs in a pile here," he gestured at the ground in front of him, "healing supplies and food over there," he pointed to a group of three trees standing a little apart from the others to his right, "and anything you don't need for our event, over there!" he waved his arm to his left vaguely. "Then please form groups, whatever size you like, but at minimum one crusader, one knight, for safety reasons! Please pass this on to those at the back!"

He waited patiently for them to fall quiet again, talking casually to Killjoy, who had ridden up to join him. Keiran was close enough to notice that they actually looked nothing alike. Kuronosu had an almost rounded face, fine eyebrows, and rather large eyes whereas Killjoy had a long face with a square jaw, and narrow eyes... and stubble. Their hair was different too. It was cut the same under their purple caps, but the hair types didn't match. Where Kuronosu's hair was sleek and shiny, Killjoy's was rough, sticking up at the back, and duller.

"Please!" Kuronosu continued, "don't go mad with your DBs! Whatever you spawn, you must kill, or we'll never be allowed to do this again! If you need help, yell. There's no shame in asking for help! Please be respectful of others, don't killsteal unless they ask for help or look to be in serious trouble, and don't take items without asking!"

_Strange, _Keiran thought,_ I could've sworn he was looking at Hikari when he said that..._

"We will break a bloody branch in about two hours, when we've all warmed up!" Kuronosu yelled. "Please pass this on! Stay safe, and enjoy the day!! Let the event begin!!"

Absolute chaos broke out. People were forcing their pecos forward, rushing to drop off their belongings, fighting for a spot at the water, dismounting to check gear...

It was all so _loud_. Keiran felt his headache coming back.

"Come on, let's get you some shade." Hikari said, squeezing his arm; apparently he'd noticed his discomfort.

Hikari drove Sei through the throng, just about trampling a pair of knights who were dragging their pecos to the water, until they were near a patch of trees, where he gently swung Keiran to the ground.

Keiran, most unexpectedly, fell on his backside – his legs simply refused to support his weight. "Oh," he said, amused.

Hikari hurriedly dismounted and helped him up, apologising as he laughed.

With his reins slung over one arm, the Paladin escorted Keiran to the nearest tree, and once he had been safely seated, handed him another water bottle from inside his saddle bags, along with Keiran's own bag and a small lumpy bag that Keiran suspected held DBs.

"You should rest for a while. I'll come check on you every so often, but I'm needed elsewhere." He smiled apologetically. "When you're ready to DB I'll stick around."

"Thank you, sir. I will." Keiran said, grateful now that he had been partnered with Hikari – he was really very nice.

"See you later." Hikari swung easily onto his peco's back and jogged away.

Keiran reclined against the tree, running his hand through the cool grass absentmindedly. It was surprisingly cool under here, _might have something to do with the water, or something..._ He swilled the water bottle around and took a swig, watching pecos run back and forth as people tried to get organised.

"KEIRAN!" Kiba yelled, bursting out of the crowd dragging a startled Arthur behind him.

"Heeeeey!" Keiran exclaimed, waving his bottle around.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" he wailed, throwing himself across Keiran's outstretched legs.

"Oh get off - it's much too hot for that sort of behaviour." Keiran protested, holding his water up and out of harms way. "And what do you mean by that? Of course you'd see me again. A little sun can't kill me." He snorted.

"But you looked so dead, lying in that Paladin's arms like that!"

"I'm not dead, okay?" He shoved at Kiba's head with his free hand. "Get off."

"Oh my, are we interrupting something?"

"Darius!" Keiran said happily, turning to greet his friend with a grin.

His smile froze - beside Darius was Alexander.

Kiba rolled off Keiran and sat up, eyeing up Alexander with a scowl. Arthur shuffled over to stand behind him, also watching the new swordsman, but wearing a curious expression.

"This is Alexander," said Darius, ignoring the tense atmosphere, although it didn't seem possible – you could have cut it with a knife. "He's the Knight's guildmaster's son."

Kiba leaned over and whispered in Keiran's ear, "oh joy, more royalty."

Keiran didn't smile, his brain was screaming at him. _Rival! Rival! RIVAL!! - _Here was someone that could take Darius away, someone that was _worthy_, if he'd been speaking, he would have spat the word, of being his friend. It had always nagged at him that he, Keiran, a commoner with no special family history, money or connections, could be best friends with Darius, who was practically a prince. Sure, he didn't _act_ like he was heir to the biggest guild ever and to a highly esteemed family too, but that didn't change the fact that he was. And therefore was probably expected to hang out with the _right_ people, and make the _right_ friends, also known as rich people with no sense of humour and that were boring as hell... He fumed.

Darius was the first real friend he'd ever made. He wasn't going to let some... some... fancy pants knight-swordie take him away. Not without a fight.

"This is Keiran, Kiba and Arthur." Darius said, gesturing to each of them.

Alexander smiled and inclined his head, "pleasure to meet you all."

Arthur was the only one who said anything in reply. Kiba had seemed to pick up off Keiran that this person wasn't to befriend, and stayed silent.

Darius shrugged and suggested to Alexander that he took a seat, before he himself sat beside Keiran, sharing his tree. He smirked. _A victory to me._

"_What is your problem?_" Darius hissed in his ear.

Keiran didn't take his eyes off the knight swordsman. "You wouldn't get it." he replied, his voice low and steady, despite his boiling emotions

"_What_ wouldn't I get, pray tell?" The hurt hidden in Darius' angry tone made Keiran look at him, feeling slightly guilty.

"I think he took what my father said a little personally." Alexander said with a smile. Keiran glared at him.

Darius looked confused, "what?"

"Keiran, my man. I'm not here to steal your friend."

Keiran bristled. Sure it was nice to know, but did _everyone else have to know too_?

"Dad is very traditional," Alexander went on, "he wants me to have friends in high places, so that he can retire knowing the guild is set with its alliances for the future. Hell, he'd even marry me off to the ugliest girl in town if he thought it would help the family!"

"And your point?" Keiran said flatly.

Alexander let his arms fall from where they'd been gesticulating wildly in the air, and sighed. "Look, I just want us _all _to be friends, all of us, you, me, Kiba, Arthur and Darius, is that too much to ask?"

Keiran was mildly impressed by his ability to remember names.

"Can we start over?" Alexander asked, his blue eyes beseeching as they looked into Keiran's.

Darius was also looking at him, in a way that made him look like he was concerned for Keiran's mental health. He'd never openly disliked anyone so strongly before, especially before he'd even gotten to know them.

Grudgingly, he nodded.

Alexander smiled widely, his eyes crinkling, and he got to his feet, surprising everyone. "Alexander Macedon, at your service," he said in a smooth voice, bowing deeply, "but please, call me Alex." He held out his hand to Keiran, who stared at it for a moment.

"Keiran. Keiran le Lievre," he said thickly, shaking the boy's hand. It was already calloused from his few months as a swordsman, but then again, he'd probably been training since he was four.

Alex beamed and shook hands with each of his friends before taking his seat again.

"Are you feeling better now?" Darius asked, "From your sunstroke, I mean."

"Oh. Yeah, I'm alright." Keiran said breezily.

He was about to ask how he'd found riding with Kuronosu, but was interrupted by another knight swordsman, who came strolling into their midst and sat down. Everyone stared at him.

"Hi" he said, smiling widely at Kiba. Keiran noticed his eyes were slightly unfocused. "Who u?"

Kiba blinked, "who are _you?_"

"I ask first"

"..."

"Who u?" he targeted Keiran instead.

Keiran wanted to laugh, but thought that might be quite rude if this guy was mentally disabled, or something, so said "Keiran. What's your name?"

"Bahaa"

"Nice to meet you."

Behind Bahaa's back, Alex was laughing, silently. Bahaa looked at him, "wat?"

"Nothing," Alex said breezily.

Bahaa's blue eyes narrowed. "Nub" he said before turning back to Keiran, "tat ur gf?"

"What?" Keiran blinked. 'Gf' stood for girlfriend, he knew that much... But who-?

"Her" he pointed at Darius.

Alexander roared with laughter, earning himself another glare. Keiran stared in disbelief, was this guy for real?

"Wel?"

"Er... no. _HE_ is my friend, Darius." Keiran made sure to emphasize the 'he'.

"Tat not guy"

Darius remained silent, obviously as uncertain as Keiran about how you were supposed to react to this white haired swordsman with his mutated English.

"Um, yeah he is."

"Tat girl" Bahaa insisted.

"No-oo..." Keiran said.

"Yea" the swordsman grinned, "she cute"

Alex by this stage was rolling around in the grass, laughing uncontrollably and slapping his knee. Arthur was staring at the swordsman incredulously, as he had been from the moment he'd sat down, and Kiba seemed to be fighting some inner battle – the corners of his mouth kept twitching.

"_He."_

"She ur gf then?"

"_Darius_, help me out!" Keiran said out of the corner of his mouth, sweating a little.

Darius made his smile look a little less fake and said "no, I'm not."

Bahaa looked at him closely. "u sound lik guy"

"... that's because I am male."

"... u look lik girl"

Darius didn't seem to know what to say to this.

Alexander thankfully came to the rescue, sitting up and brushing dirt out of his hair as he scowled at his fellow swordsman. "Now Bahaa, don't be such a dick."

Keiran stared at him instead; that was the last thing he'd expected to hear the boy say. In his head he'd imagined him calling people names like _twat, pillock_ and _prick,_ maybe even _bastard, _but certainly not _dick. _He felt a little warmer towards him as a result.

"Nub" Bahaa said, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hikari!" yelled Keiran suddenly, leaping to his feet as the Paladin walked towards them, leading his peco. "I mean- Sir."

"Hikari?" Kiba asked, then looked over his shoulder, "Oh..."

"Hikari's fine. It's good to see you're mingling already." Hikari said, smiling admirably at Alex and Bahaa. "I thought I'd come see if you were still alive, and it seems you are."

"How're things going out there?" Keiran asked, peering at the mass of moving bodies, trying to make sense of it.

"Oh, we're finally sorted," he said dismissively, "Do you feel ready to DB now, or would you like to watch for a bit?"

Kiba jumped up at once, nodding eagerly.

Glancing around the rest of the group, it seemed that starting now was the common consensus, "I think we're ready," Keiran said, fingering the hilt of his sword.

"Okay, just wait here; I'll go fetch the rest of my party." Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and headed back into the throng.

He came back a minute later, accompanied by a severe looking male Lord Knight, a male Paladin who looked a bit stoned, and another male Lord Knight who was quite obviously gay – if not for his dyed orange hair, and pink cape, then for the fact he kept grabbing Hikari's arse as they walked side by side. After the third time, Hikari punched him, square in the nose, and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

The gay Lord Knight picked himself up, clutching his face as he hurried after them, spluttering apologies, which Hikari ignored.

He grinned as he approached the swordsmen, who were all standing, gaping. "Hi again."

There was a muttered chorus of heys as they all eyed each other suspiciously.

Hikari cleared his throat, "I'm Hikari, this is Leo," he gestured to the other Paladin, who smiled a little, "Juris," the dark Lord Knight, who didn't smile, but nodded stiffly, "and Pip." He said the gay Lord Knight's name in a way that made it clear he didn't want the man to be there, but would tolerate it.

_Pip._ Keiran thought, _what the hell sort of name is that for a guy?_

Pip was tugging at Hikari's cape hopefully, still holding his bleeding nose, "Hikawi?"

He sighed, "... yes?"

"Heawl pwease?"

"... Heal." Hikari waved his arm vaguely in the LK's direction, and he was engulfed in green sparkles.

When Pip moved his hand, his nose had stopped bleeding, and looked a bit straighter. He wiped the blood off his face with a cloth, leaving lovely red smears behind, "thanks."

"Are you going to introduce the swordsmen?" Juris said. His voice was very clear, despite its depth, and very cold.

"Sorry, I don't know all their names."

Juris observed him coolly through his thin scarlet eyes, then looked at the swordies. "Introduce yourselves, if you would."

They did so, one at a time, as he fixed his eagle-like gaze on them. It was as if he was trying to work out exactly what their personalities were just by their eyes. It was very disconcerting.

The other Paladin, Leo, was leaning casually on his peco's neck, smoking a cigarette Keiran swore he hadn't had a second ago. The bird had its head so low that its beak nearly trailed on the ground, eyes half-closed. The man looked around 25, and like his name might suggest, had a ragged mane of light brownish-grey hair that ended unevenly near his elbows. His eyes were bright yellow, the pupils curiously cat-like; he even had black cat ears poking out from his hair... He looked up as Keiran was scrutinizing his facial structure (scared, hollow-cheeked, straight nose, long jaw with a squared off chin) and winked, flashing him a rather pointy grin that was gone as quick as it had arrived.

Keiran didn't really want to analyse either of the other two, Juris because he was bloody scary, and Pip because he didn't want him to think he was checking him out, but he did anyway.

Juris, with his pale skin and dark everything else, looked like someone who would look good in an assassin's uniform of tight black leather, rather than the elaborately gilded armour of a Lord Knight. His black hair was hewn off roughly at shoulder length, with a fringe that ended at eye level, so that he had to keep brushing it off his sharply angled face with a quick flick of his hand. He had chosen a deep red for his cape and strapping, and it suited him. Despite the fact he seemed to look at everyone like they were a slightly annoying bug that would soon have to dealt with, he was quite attractive in a dark, I'm-going-to-kill-you way._ Just like the stereotypical assassin_, Keiran thought, _he even has the evil wings.._. Juris' peco, standing just behind him, looked like he was ready to take a chunk out of Pip's pecopeco, which was cowering, like his master.

Pip looked like a girl, to put it simply. Where the other two were sharp and pointy, Pip was curved and soft, with _huge_ grey eyes. He looked a bit younger, more like 20, but you never can tell with some people... His hair, probably originally black, going by the regrowth, was spiked off to one side, making him look lopsided, not helped at all by his choice in headgear – a tiny little top hat, tilted in the opposite direction to his hair and tied under his chin in a bow.

"So..." said Hikari, shoving his helm's visor up again from here it had slipped down. Now that Keiran wasn't looking at it from right under Hikari's nose, he could see that it was a Valkyrie's helm – elaborate and winged, white with silver edging, to match his armour. They were very hard to come by; Hikari must be either rich, or lucky. "The plan is as follows; we take turns to snap a branch. If the monster is not worth our" he indicated himself and the other advanced classed party members "effort, we give it to the swordsmen. I'll be on heal duty, so you needn't worry yourself, Leo."

Leo saluted, taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing the smoke out through his nose.

"When something decent pops up, Leo, you devo Juris, and we're away. I'll use shield attacks and heal. Pip... you can... do whatever it is you do," he said exasperatedly.

The little Lord Knight beamed, heaving himself onto his peco's back.

"Are we ready?" Hikari asked, looking around at the swordsmen as he settled himself back in the saddle. They all had their swords drawn, the crusader swordies with their shields on one arm, Darius had brought Keiran's yet again; it seemed he was forever going to forget it; the knights holding much heavier swords with both hands.

Leo swung himself up into the saddle and cracked his knuckles, flipping his reins over the horn on his saddle and unstrapping his huge shield from his back. Keiran tensed in excitement - he was going to see a devotion Paladin in action! He could finally see first hand if this was what he wanted to do. The shield looked like it weighed a tonne, but the Paladin wielded it like it was nothing. In his other hand he held a very light looking sword that glowed slightly.

Hikari's shield was only a little smaller, but a lot slimmer and shaped strangely, and the edges of it were like blades... His sword was fairly narrow, but long and looked like it actually had some substance to it.

The Lord Knight Juris hadn't drawn his sword. In fact, he was still on the ground.

And then he wasn't.

He had somehow, in the space of half a second, got himself from standing beside his peco to sitting on it, perfectly composed. _Fast, like an assassin_. Keiran wondered if he would forever compare this guy to assassins... Probably.

He still didn't draw his sword.

Pip was holding a long spear... with _tassels_ on the end.

"Aaand, go!" Hikari exclaimed, managing to snap the piece of wood even with his hands full.

They looked at him questioningly for a moment. Then looked down.

Flapping around the peco's knees was a seahorse. It was a rather large seahorse, admittedly, but that didn't stop it being disappointing.

Juris scowled at it. "Provoke," he said, quite offhandedly.

The seahorse stopped molesting Pip's peco and turned its attention to the other LK instead.

"You, Keiran." He pointed on armoured finger at him. "Kill it."

Keiran, more scared by the intense Lord Knight watching him than by the fish, looked at the other swordsmen, who looked nervously back, nodding encouragement.

He approached the seahorse cautiously. It was swiping frenziedly at Juris' peco's legs with its clawed fins. The peco was dancing on the spot, deftly avoiding every attack.

Adjusting his grip on his sword, Keiran eyed the monster carefully, searching for weak points; in this case its throat and weaker belly scales. He aimed, and stabbed.

And missed.

The seahorse was no longer there, but two paces to his left, blowing bubbles angrily in his direction.

"Oh, marcs change targets." Juris said mildly, using his provoke skill again before it could get close enough to hit Keiran.

This time he was ready. Instead of being slow and careful, he took a swing, aiming to decapitate it. The seahorse, a marc, dodged again, but his blade had cut its belly, and it leaked clear juice all over the place. Enraged, the marc charged at him, trying to claw his face with its fins. The hooked claw on one narrowly missed his stomach as he jumped back, swinging his guard up in front of him.

Then Juris kicked it, and it flew back and hit the tree they had been sitting against earlier with a muffled thump. Alex and Kiba fell on it immediately, shouting boyish battle cries and stabbing randomly. Arthur looked slightly ill as he watched.

"Heal" Hikari said breezily, sweeping his arm in the swordsmen's direction as they emerged, apparently victorious. Alex exclaimed in surprise as he was surrounded by the shimmering green light, staring in wonder as a rather nasty cut on his arm faded into nothing, leaving only a gash in his leather guard as evidence. _Oh right, he's a knight wannabe, he's probably never seen heal used before, _Keiran realised. It seemed strange to him to be surprised by something so simple, but then he had been getting healed at regular intervals over the last month or so...

Hikari healed Kiba too – he had a cut down his cheek, then looked to Leo, who was slouching on his peco in a way that didn't seem possible with his armour, turning a branch over and over in his hand, "go ahead."

Leo crushed it easily in one huge hand, letting the pieces drop to the ground.

"A _green_ poring." Keiran said, as he would have usually, temporarily forgetting the present company. He heard Darius sigh from behind him, "_poporing_."

Suddenly feeling a lot less tense, he bounced up to the poring and stabbed it. It didn't explode. He stabbed again and this time it popped, splattering him with green juice that smelt like fake apple lollies. _I'm going to smell like a fruit salad if this keeps up._

Pip rushed onto the scene, scooping up the remains of the poporing - his peco was short enough that had could touch the ground if he leant over, and carried them over the where the marc had fallen. The seahorse's body had dissolved, or something, leaving behind a small pile of pointy scales and a fin, which were joined shortly by a clear glass bottle and a small green plant.

Keiran turned around to see Juris had broken his branch without waiting for the okay – he was glaring at the large fly buzzing around his head. A chonchon.

Presumably regaining confidence in the presence of a monster he actually recognised, Arthur rushed forward, waving his sword. The chonchon was dead before it knew what had hit it.

Arthur was a bit strange sometimes, Keiran had always thought. He was shy and tended to daydream a lot, but just occasionally, he'd have these huge spurts of energy that would leave his friends gaping after him in wonder, such as now.

One at a time, the swordsmen broke a branch, summoning nothing bigger or more dangerous than the marc. Keiran could see Juris was getting more and more angry - he was getting reckless with his branch breaking, snapping them one after another without stopping to kill the minor monsters that appeared.

Somehow this was a lot more fun as, without Juris staring down his pointy nose at them, they could be as violent and loud as they liked as they hacked the monsters to bits.

Alexander seemed to be enjoying himself splendidly - he was laughing as he spun around, bringing his sword down in surprisingly graceful swings, while keeping up a constant stream of conversation with Hikari, whose sentences were punctured by cries of 'heal!'. The Paladin himself wasn't fighting; he was standing in the centre, his eyes jumping from one swordsman to another, checking for damage. Any attack aimed at him seemed to just bounce off, and it took a minute for Keiran to realise there was a faint glowing cylinder around him – reflect shield.

The other Paladin, Leo, was lounging on his peco a little way off, smoking, and casting heal on Juris occasionally. Pip was darting between them, collecting the items the slaughtered monsters had dropped and dumping them on the by-now quite large pile of treasures.

"Keiran!"

Keiran looked around in time to defend himself against a grasshopper as tall as him. It was missing a few legs, so he guessed that it had escaped from another swordsman. Darius, having been the person who had yelled the warning, and probably was the original owner of the monster, rushed to his side, breathing heavily.

"Hi!" Keiran said happily, his adrenaline on high as he swung his sword, separating the bug's head from its shoulders. It fell to bits.

"Enjoying yourself?" Darius asked, back-to-back with Keiran now.

"Exponentially!"

"I didn't know you had such complicated words in your vocabulary!" he exclaimed, plunging his katana into the back of a giant ant that had been trying desperately to get to one of the grasshoppers legs that was lying on the ground.

Keiran stabbed a purple zombie in the throat, it vomited on his shoe as it slipped to the ground, "Disgusting! Yes, I know such words!" he sliced a bat in half, "I just prefer not to use them!"

"And why is that?!" Darius sounded elated too as he stood deftly on a mushroom with teeth, while removing an orc's arm with a quick swing at the same time.

"It's far too much hard work!" Keiran Bashed the orc over the head. It stopped trying to reach for Darius' throat and blinked dazedly, "Oooooooooh yeah baby, my Fatal Blow worked!"

"So it did, well done!" Darius stuck his sword through its chest, and Keiran lopped off its head before it could recover from its momentary stunning. It fell to the floor with a squelch.

It became apparent that Juris had either run out of DB's, or he'd resigned himself to the fact that today was his unlucky day and he just simply wasn't going to summon anything worth killing - the monsters were dwindling, no longer replaced by something else when they'd died. Leo was walking casually around, finishing off anything still twitching with a quick flick of his sword, followed by the energetic Pip, whose arms were overflowing with items.

Easily dispatching with the last of his monsters - a flailing flower with a snapping mouth full of pointed teeth and no eyes, Keiran threw himself face down in the shade and spread his arms wide, "PHEW."

Darius sat down heavily beside him, running a hand through his hair which had started to curl even more with his sweat soaking it and the sun beating down.

They were slowly joined by the other swordsmen of their party, in various stages of exhaustion. Alex laid on his back, staring up at the trees with a smile on his face; he looked as tired as Keiran felt, but had more dignity than to go rolling around in monster-gut splattered grass. Arthur had immediately rolled onto his side and fallen asleep, his head cushioned on Kiba's stomach and his glasses safely in one hand. Kiba didn't seem to mind – he was flat on his back, his arm over his eyes. The other swordsman, Bahaa, was half-leaning against a tree, his eyelids fluttering as he tried to ward off sleep, his gore-smeared sword loosely in one hand.

Keiran stuck his head on the other side. Hikari was a way off, yelling at Juris, who was yelling back. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but kept picking up bits of what Hikari said, like "swordsmen ... killed them! ... Idiot! ... How ... explain _that _to Sir Philip!"

Leo strolled towards the swordsmen, calmly wiping his sword clean on a rag. "Everyone okay?" He had an accent, Keiran noted, somewhere from down south...

There was a murmur of ascents, but the Paladin healed them all anyway before going to break up Juris and Hikari. The Lord Knight had one hand on the hilt of his sword, still sheathed, while the other was gripping Hikari's cape, pulling him close so their noses almost touched. Hikari's arms were by his sides, refusing to rise to the bait. Their pecos grazed a little way off, not interested in their masters when food was so readily available.

Suddenly Juris let go, clutching his chest and gasping; a shimmering image of a blue cross fading across his body. He spun to face Leo, who had his sword out.

"What do you think you're doing?" Juris spat, his chest heaving. They must have moved closer, Keiran had no problem hearing every word now.

"I could ask you the same thing." Leo said calmly, sheathing his glowing blade, "We're not here to fight amongst ourselves."

"Tell that to _him_."

"He knows it as well as I." The Paladin was extremely tall, and broad too, towering over the Lord Knight. "We were told to use the dead branches carefully, or were you not listening?"

"What's the big deal? It's not like there was anything dangerous."

"Nothing dangerous for _you_, maybe." Leo's yellow eyes narrowed. "If Hikari hadn't been as attentive as he was, we would have lost ourselves four swordsmen, one of which is the heir to the Knight's Guild, or did you forget that too?"

Keiran lifted his head, was he serious? Would four of them really have died if Hikari hadn't been there to heal them?

Juris' sneer slipped, only just realising how much of a mess he'd made. How much he'd risked in his impatience. His face twisted into a grimace.

"Don't let past confrontations get in the way of your duties. You're only discrediting your family's name further." Leo said finally, strolling away to the water side, where Pip was squatted, leaving the Lord Knight standing, staring at the ground several paces ahead in horror.

Hikari had retrieved his peco and was coming to join them in the shade, his helm under his arm. Breathing out slowly, he sat down at the edge of the group, his arms draped over his knees.

Keiran peered up at him, his head cradled in his arms, "you okay, Sir?"

Hikari blinked down at him. "Yeah I'm alright... Dealing with angry Lord Knights just isn't my thing." He smiled wearily, brushing the hair out of his face, "give me an angry peco any day."

"What happens now?" Kiba asked, not moving his arm from his eyes.

"Now we will try to mend this rift between our guilds," Leo said, handing a bottle of water to Hikari as he joined them.

Pip came up behind him, his arms bulging with more bottles, which Leo took and handed out to each of the swordsmen, who accepted them gratefully.

"Juris!" Leo boomed. The Lord Knight looked up, and the Paladin beckoned to him.

Juris' face spasmed painfully, but he collected his pecopeco and headed for the group, where he hovered uncomfortably in the background. When Leo offered him a bottle he flinched away. _Wow mood swing._

"We're going to break a few more branches," Leo informed them casually in his southern accent, "in hope of summoning something more challenging while we wait for Sir Kuronosu to announce the breaking of the bloody branches."

Juris looked a bit more enthusiastic at this.

"I would like you swordsmen to rest here please. You can watch if you wish – you might learn something." He winked at Keiran again as he said this. Had someone told him about his interest in the skill he specialized in?

There were no complaints from the swordsmen, all of whom were now lying down. Arthur had gone back to sleep after drinking his water, and it seemed Kiba had joined him in dreamland – his breathing had changed subtly.

They all mounted up again, replenishing their stock of DB's from the guild pile and moved out into the sun.

This time, they got a bit luckier on the first branch Leo broke.

Keiran sat up, staring.

In front of Juris' peco stood a tall, blue haired woman in heels, wearing... not of a hell of a lot and brandishing a long, barbed whip. A dominatrix. She wasn't alone however – three nearly naked males accompanied her. At least, they had once been male. Keiran felt a twinge of sympathy for the creatures.

"Injustice..." Alex muttered.

"Injustice is right" Keiran said, horrified, "what sort of sick, twisted torture is that chick into?"

Alex chuckled, "the monsters are called Injustices. The woman is a Zealotus."

The Injustice's only clothes were a pair of straps across their pale chests, and long gloves held up by the foot-long spikes driven through their arms. They had matching spines through their legs, and as a result walked slightly sideways, dragging their feet.

As they moved, their mouths opened in silent screams, blood pouring from their empty eye sockets, staining their ragged silver hair. Keiran felt sickened watching them.

"They're from Glast Heim prison," Alexander said quietly, "There's a horrible history behind that place... When it fell into ruin, the prisoners, and the guards, living or dead, turned into monsters, such as those." He nodded to the Injustices from were he lay on his side, his head propped on his hand.

The Zealotus had uncoiled her whip and was tapping it against her thigh, eyeing up Juris in a manner that suggested she's quite like to turn him into a black-haired injustice, but only after she'd played with him a little. She sneered behind her horned mask, revealing pointed teeth.

There was a clinking noise, and Keiran looked over in time to see Leo surrounded by a whirling translucent cylinder that faded as he straightened up in the saddle, pointing directly at Juris, and muttered something under his breath. The ground beneath his peco's huge feet glowed blue, and he said, with unwavering confidence, still pointing, "devotion."

As Keiran's heart rate increased with excitement, Juris and his peco started to glow blue. Leo was also glowing the same colour, a thin rope of light running from the Paladin to the Lord Knight, linking them together.

Juris urged his peco forward as the woman cracked her whip; her injustices lurching forward, shaking their katar blades into place as they surrounding the knight.

There was a groan, and one of the Injustices fell back, clutching a gaping slash across his gut. Even as he crumpled, the Zealotus was summoning a replacement, cracking her whip in annoyance.

Keiran caught a glimpse of Juris occasionally from between the flailing assassins; he was striking at one of the monsters over and over with his blade, slicing off flesh and limbs at a frankly disturbing rate. He seemed oblivious to the fact that one of the injustices had just stuck its katar into the unprotected side of his leg.

_Devotion, duh_, Keiran hit himself mentally and followed the blue cord back to Leo with his eyes.

The Paladin and his peco were bracing themselves, as if expecting an attack... Only there was nothing around that was even looking at them. As Keiran watched, Leo gritted his teeth, reaching down as if to pull something from his leg. He cut the movement short and sat up again, waving his arm and disappearing in green sparkles. As soon as the smoke vanished, a cut appeared on his cheek, splattering blood across his face. Leo didn't seem to notice – he nudged his peco a little closer to Juris, as the tie was starting to look a bit thin, and cast heal on himself at exactly the same time the Zealotus got fed up of watching her minions be slaughtered and jumped into the fray, whip whirling.

"Heal!" Hikari said, pointing at Leo, whose face was bleeding freely now from several gashes. Keiran was suddenly able to understand clearly why it was that devotion paladins had such scarred faces – they couldn't possibly heal every last cut._ Although... if you wore a helm... _Occasionally bits of metal would chip off Leo's armour, as if an invisible enemy was hacking at it. Apparently the skill somehow took the Paladin's defences into consideration while calculating the damage... It made Keiran's head hurt to think about it, better to take it as it looks.

Juris casually shoved an injustice off the back of his peco from where it had perched, trying in vain the find a weak point in his armour, tearing the knight's cape to shreds in the process. Then he turned his attention to the Zealotus, who was trying to strangle his peco while the bird held her arm in its beak, twisting and jerking to a steady flow of cracking bones. Juris joined in, sword flashing as he struck the woman repeatedly.

She must have had extremely tough skin or something, because it was a long time before she finally gave a high pitched scream and collapsed to her knees, clutching her face, her mask gone. As she toppled forwards, dead, the remaining injustice gave a groan and collapsed with her.

It suddenly was very quiet; the only sound was Leo's ragged breathing as he flopped in his saddle, exhausted. The blue light of the devotion spell spluttered and faded, unable to sustain itself on its creator's lingering energy.

Hikari rushed over to him, showering him in green as he used heal over and over, then led the reluctant peco to the shade and helped Leo dismount – he didn't quite fall over, but he was pretty close; his legs were shaking as much as Keiran's had been when he'd got off Hikari's peco that time. Leo reclined against a tree, shoving his hair back with a shaking hand while the other tried and failed to light another cigarette.

"Here – let me." Hikari took the lighter and lit it for him, while he closed his eyes and slid a little lower down the tree.

"Thanks" he muttered as Hikari returned the lighter to its owner.

Pip suddenly zoomed onto the scene, waving a bottle, which he pressed into the Paladin's hand.

Juris was once again left standing in the sun. He had dismounted, and was poking through the sand where the Zealotus had vanished. He found whatever he was looking for and stood up, tucking it carefully into a scrap of his cape.

"Leo," he said as he came to the Paladin's side.

Leo's eyelids fluttered, and he half-opened one, peering up at him, "mm?"

Juris shifted his weight uncomfortably and set his bundle down on Leo's lap, "I think you should have these."

The Paladin unwrapped it slowly, and his eyes opened in surprise, "no way."

He picked up a glass bottle of bright blue liquid with one hand and pulled the cork out with his teeth, but his eyes were still fixed on the items in his lap. There was a bright pink gem, the Zealotus' whip, and-

"A Zealotus card..." the Paladin said wonderingly, picking it up and examining it while he drank the potion. Apparently satisfied the card was real, his eyes flicked up to meet Juris', "are you sure?"

Juris nodded, "I may have killed it, but you took all my damage, and ... I was careless... You took far more than you should have needed to." He looked away. "So... thanks."

Leo smiled. "'s all good."

There was a sudden weight against Keiran's leg, and he just about jumped out of his skin. But it was only Darius – he had rolled over.

"Darius?" he asked quietly.

There was no reply, _he must be asleep_. His eyes were lightly closed...

Keiran looked down at him, he looked very peaceful when he was sleeping, even when covered in sweat and gore, but then again he looked peaceful while he was awake too... He was suddenly very tired, and he smothered a yawn. _I can't sleep yet, I might miss something..._

"You should take a nap too, Keiran" said Hikari, giving Leo a pat on the shoulder as he heaved himself back to his feet.

Keiran blinked. _Is he a mind reader or something?_

"Now is the perfect time. We still have half an hour before we break the bloody branches. So if you sleep now, you'll be able to watch."

"Are bloody branches really that great?"

"Yes, just wait and see." Hikari smiled.

Shrugging, Keiran looked around at the rest of his companions. Bahaa was slouched against his tree, his head lolling against his shoulder with his mouth open. Alex gave a huge sigh and rolled over, muttering quietly in his sleep, his leg draped over Kiba's. Kiba and Arthur still hadn't moved from where they'd started out, but Kiba was snoring lightly and Arthur's glasses had slipped out of his hand. And Darius...

Keiran resisted the urge to brush the hair out of his eyes as he lay down beside him - that would have looked very strange to any onlookers, and so resigned himself to sleep.


	6. Part 6: BB PLS

;D

Gotta love DBing, oh yes.

Characters belong to their respective owners (mainly me), and I don't own Ragnarok.

* * *

When he woke up, he was instantly aware that someone was watching him – he could feel their gaze like the heat of the sun. He rubbed the back of his neck, and yelped. _Sunburn!_ He wailed to himself, sitting up and looking around, blinking sleepily in the sun, which had moved, stealing away his shade.

Sitting about two paces away was a girl. Keiran rubbed his eyes, and looked again. She ... had no armour... But she wasn't a swordsman either. She was dressed in a red velvet coat, short shorts and fishnets, a dagger strung in her belt. Her crimson hair was wrapped into twin buns around her ears...

"... Rogue?" he asked thickly.

The girl smiled, "that's the one."

"Why?" he eyed her up cautiously, remembering the things Blank had told them about his dad and his friends. She was the same age or only a little older than him, by the looks of her, but she was 2nd class, and that could make all the difference.

He glanced around, his friends were all still sleeping, and the older party members had gone, presumably to join the main throng. Pip was still around, sitting by the pile of items and watching the rogue girl nervously, as if he was scared she might try stealing everything. But that's what rogues did, wasn't it? Steal things.

"I was out hunting drops cards, and decided to come see what all the commotion was about" she said simply, still smiling at him. She held out her hand, "my name's Eilk."

Keiran took it bemusedly, introducing himself.

"Keiran. That's a nice name." Eilk nodded to herself before continuing, "Some parents these days name their kids the strangest things. I met a merchant boy the other day called The Bank. How strange is that?"

"Quite." Keiran agreed, wishing someone else would wake up.

"Are these people all knights and crusaders?" she asked, gesturing at the crowd.

"Yeah..."

"And what about you? You're a swordsman, right?"

"Yeah, I'm hoping to be a crusader."

"Oooh, good luck!"

Keiran smiled for the first time. She was kinda pretty, now that he looked again, if rather flat-chested... _Stop it, _he told himself forcefully, _you have a girlfriend_.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, Keiran watching as a huge black horse and its rider were brought down by an excited mob of devotioned Lord Knights, the beast's harsh cries of pain echoing across the desert.

"It's a bit cruel really, isn't it?" Eilk said vaguely, as the horse collapsed onto its side, groaning.

"I guess..." Keiran said, turning his head away as a knight bent to cut the animal's throat open. "But if we don't kill them, we'd be overrun."

"Ah, and once again it comes down to the human desire to dominate," said Alex. Keiran looked around at him. He was facing the other way, lying on his side. "But you're right, of course." Rolling over and propped his head up on his hand, he smiled at Eilk, "I didn't know other guilds had been invited too."

"Oh, I wasn't invited. I'm just a spectator." Eilk said, before introducing herself to him. "What were you saying before?"

"I was just saying humans have an overwhelming urge to control. Whether it be in relationships with other humans, or over other species..." He paused. "How many people do you think are killed by lunatics every year?"

"Not many?" Eilk hazarded.

"If any." Alex nodded, "yet every _day_ thousands of lunatics are slaughtered. Why? People will say they're hunting feathers, but it all comes down to the fact that, unless we continue murdering them by the thousand, they would take over, and humans would lose their place as dominant species, to a _rabbit_, of all things."

"Wouldn't that suck" Keiran contributed dryly.

Alex chuckled. "It sure would."

There was a flurry of movement from the group as they started to move in one direction – towards the lake.

Hikari burst into sight and ran his peco over to them, pulling up short at the sight of Eilk. "A rogue?"

"Her name is Eilk." Keiran offered.

"... Right. Well that's not important right now. Sir Kuronosu is about to make an announcement, so get everyone up and over to him, pronto." He flung himself off his peco, and squatted beside Bahaa, shaking him awake.

Keiran and Alex exchanged glances and shrugged at exactly the same time. Laughing, Alex dragged him up to wake Kiba and Arthur, while Keiran gently nudged Darius' shoulder, "Darius~"

Darius stirred, blinking up at him "mm?"

"You gotta get up; Kuro's got stuff to say."

"It's _Sir_ Kuro, Keiran..." he scolded as he sat up, stretching.

"Yeah, whatever." Keiran was on his feet, bouncing up and down as he tried to see over the heads of the gathered guild members, to no avail. "I can't even see 'im."

"Go go go!" exclaimed Pip, bounding towards them with his peco in tow.

"Can I come?" asked Eilk, still sitting on the ground look quite sad that her new friends were leaving her so soon.

Pip cast an anxious glance from Eilk to the pile of items, then to Hikari. Hikari caught his drift, "yes, I think that would be best." Pip looked extremely relieved as he herded a half-awake Arthur in the right direction.

By the time they had persuaded Bahaa to get up ('y? dun wan') and had fought their way through the crowd to somewhere near the front, Kuronosu was already talking... Almost finished by the sound of it.

"Shit," muttered Hikari, who had left his peco at the back with Pip. "We'll have to-"

"It's okay!" Eilk said breathlessly, appearing out of thin air with a pop and a poof of dust, causing Kiba to shriek in surprise. "I heard everything!"

"How'd you do that?!" he asked, clutching his heart.

"Tunnel drive."

"Yah what?"

"Tunnel drive." She smiled. "It's a rogue skill. I'm not very good at it yet."

"Enough." Hikari was tapping his foot impatiently – Kuronosu had said the last of his messages ('Good luck, may God be with you!'), and people were starting to move around them. "Tell me what you heard."

Eilk's smile slipped. "Try please."

Hikari's face twisted. Then he closed his eyes and slowly breathed out. "_Please _can you tell us."

"The big shiny guy said to take a 5 minute break to rest up, and divide into two groups - one branch for each, or something," Eilk said quite causally.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Um, something about the branches being dangerous and not to be careless." Eilk itched her eyebrow, "Oh and he wants the swordsmen to stay out of the battle."

"Ah what!" Kiba complained loudly, joined by Keiran and Alex. Even Darius looked a little disappointed.

"Be quiet," a nearby Knight snapped, "you haven't seen a boss before, you don't know just how powerful they are."

"He's right" Hikari said, although a lot more kindly, "you wouldn't last 2 seconds. Just watch from the shade, please." There was something about the way he'd said 'please' that made Keiran put a stopper on the plans he'd already started forming in his head of how to join in.

It seemed he wasn't the only one – Kiba and Alex had also both stopped protesting and were following after Hikari very quietly. In fact, the only person who was still talking in their group was Bahaa, who was dissing Eilk's... lack-of-chest. To her face.

"do u wear bra?"

"_Excuse me?_" Eilk said incredulously.

"Bra. do u wear it?" Bahaa repeated

Eilk stared.

"ur boobs is small." He grinned.

Alex came to the rescue again, "Bahaa, leave her alone."

"Y? she ur gf?"

Eilk left them to argue and sidled over to Keiran, "aren't knights and stuff, you know, supposed to save damsels in distress, not _cause_ distress?"

"I think he's an exception to the case." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"Do you know him?"

"Naaah, him and the blonde guy he's talking to are knight swordsmen. Only met them today."

"Oh." Eilk looked consideringly at Darius. "And the rest of you are crusader swordies?"

"Yup. This is Darius, by the way." Keiran jerked a thumb at his friend. "Darius, Eilk."

"You're as charming as ever." Darius shoved him, before turning to Eilk. smiling, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you," she said politely.

"Ooooooooooooooooooh OLIVER!!" Pip squealed, throwing Sei's reins at Hikari and running away, his own peco jogging along behind.

"... Who's Oliver?" Hikari asked no one in particular.

"No idea." Keiran said.

"Who cares?" He shrugged. "Okay, I'm off. I'll say it again; don't come near the monsters, whatever happens." Swinging himself up onto Sei's back, he cast his eyes around them. "You should find the other swordsmen. ... And rogue, don't touch our stuff."

And then he was gone in a cloud of sand, darting off to join the nearest group as Kuronosu brought a large branch forward. It was big, and bloodstained. Keiran didn't see how they were going to snap it like they did with the regular dead branches - Maybe they cut it in half with something instead...

"Oh, I see Astarte!" Kiba exclaimed, pointing.

The other knight and crusader swordsmen had moved over to a spot close to where Keiran's party had been dbing before, so they headed over to join them.

Just as they had sat themselves down and exchanged greetings there was a huge crash and a confusion of noise as people screamed, cheered and roared - a huge snake was towering over the group furthest away from them.

"Holy wow," Match said.

"You mean holy _fucking _wow," corrected Blank.

The snake was at least four times taller than the tallest person and peco there, gigantic and white with a hat like a university graduate but with rattling things hanging off each point. It looked down at the crowd, flicking its tongue and hissing.

It took a step forward, which Keiran would have thought was impossible, until he saw that the snake wasn't even touching the ground – it was wrapped tightly around what appeared to be a spiky blob of ink with eyes. It was clutching a huge paintbrush in one shifting hand, and a huge pot of ink wrapped under the other arm. It blinked confusedly and took another step on its stumpy legs, the snake passenger wobbling precariously.

Suddenly a split appeared beneath the ink-monster's eyes and grew into a huge sneer, and the humans sprang to life, shouting instructions at each other and buffing up, the knights running forwards and the devotion Paladins shuffling back out of the line of fire, glowing their brilliant blue. Somewhere, someone was singing the Paladin's battle chant.

Keiran longed to move closer, but Hikari's warning kept him seated, fidgeting.

It was probably lucky he hadn't gone, as a few seconds later, the knights and offensive crusaders were engulfed in fluffy clouds. Clouds with old men sitting on them. Old men bringing down lightening from the cloudless sky. _What the fuck._

"Does anyone know what that is?" Keiran asked.

"It's the Evil Snake Lord, from Gonryun dungeon" a female Paladin with dark green hair said. She was leaning against a tree, absently stroking her peco's head, which was on her lap. It had a bandage wrapped tightly around one leg.

"Ah, thanks"

Keiran gave up trying to make sense of the mess that was the Snake Lord and its minions and focused on the group closest to them instead. They had been watching the other group too, and were only just turning back to the middle, where a Lord Knight was hacking at the other bloody branch with his sword.

With a crack it finally gave and broke in two.

After a moment of silence, in which everyone shifted impatiently, there was a whooshing noise and-

There was an assassin cross standing where the remains of the branch had been, looking around curiously. He was tall and thin, with long straggly blue hair; his ripped, ragged clothing was made of brown leather, so worn it no longer held any of the stiffness leather should, the armour plates on his shoulders and chest were starting to rust, and what wasn't rusted was tarnished so much it didn't reflect the sun.

He also wasn't completely solid – Keiran could see the legs of a pecopeco _through_ him, and he was emitting a faint ghost like aura.

"... hm" said the assassin, stroking his chin.

Everyone stared.

"Oh no. Not good..." the Paladin sitting with the swordsmen whispered, her hand over her mouth; her eyes wide.

"What's wrong? What is it?" a knight swordswoman asked fretfully.

There was a collective gasp from the fighters – the assassin had disappeared into thin air, but not without a trace. He had left behind a large cloud of purple smoke that glittered menacingly in the light.

"Everyone cover your mouths! Get away from the smoke!!!" someone yelled desperately.

The knight who had originally summoned the assassin, and therefore was right in the centre of the smoke, groaned and sagged, slipping sideways off his swaying peco to hit the ground with a thunk, where he lay still, frothing at the mouth. Several other people had also abandoned their pecos and were on hands and knees, retching and coughing so violently that blood was splattering the sand.

_Poison._

People were running back and forth in a panic, not helped by the fact that the assassin cross was nowhere to be seen but his cold laugh kept raising out of the crowd and fresh clouds of purple would appear wherever the gathering was biggest.

"Hey! Where are you going!?" Kiba yelled.

Keiran tore his eyes off a female Lord Knight with blood all down her front trying to shove a leafy green plant down the throat of her shuddering peco, and looked around. Eilk was on her feet, marching determinedly towards the people writhing in the bloodied sand.

"I know what I'm doing! Don't stop me!" she shouted over her shoulder. She broke into a jog, then a run and within seconds she was beside the nearest victim – a Crusader who was still on his peco, just. Eilk pulled a small leather bag out of her pocket and took something out of it – a pinch of powder, which she sprinkled over the guys face before dashing to the next person. The Crusader glowed a greenish-blue briefly, and as the light faded, he sat up a little, wiping at the trickle of blood down his chin, his expression one of wonder.

"Of course!" Darius said with sudden realisation, "rogues know detoxify – it cancels poison," he added at Keiran's baffled look.

"Aww..." said someone behind them with a rather high, cold voice; not the usual swordsman class voice... "Spoil my fun, why don't you."

It was suddenly very cold in the shade. No one spoke, no one even moved, except...

"who u?" asked Bahaa, fixing the assassin cross with a glare.

"Eremes Guile..." the Paladin whispered, clutching her peco's head to her chest.

Keiran turned around, slowly.

The assassin was smirking at her in a self-satisfied way, his tattered skirt and scarf billowing menacingly in the nonexistent breeze. "That is correct. Well done." The ground around his feet had started to glow white.

"wat u doin" Bahaa said.

The assassin only widened his smirk.

The Paladin was on her feet, "we have to get away. Right now!!" she yelled, dragging her peco up, "KURONOSU!!!!"

Kuronosu skidded to a halt as he careered past, a bundle of green herbs in his arms, which he dropped when he saw the problem, "oh SHIT!" He spun he peco around. "PHILIP!!"

Philip took one look from the glowing, sneering assassin to the swordsmen, "get the swordsmen OUT!!"

Next thing he knew, Keiran was looking at the world from a completely different angle, having been slung unceremoniously over Kuronosu's shoulder. The Paladin's armour plates were digging into his gut with the peco's every step, but he barely noticed – he was facing back the way they'd come – towards the assassin cross, who looked supremely unconcerned that the small-fry had been whisked away to be replaced by a herd of very angry warriors, all fixed on revenge. In fact, he was cleaning his nails out with a thin dagger.

Without looking up, he lurched aside as a shield was hurled in his direction; the white light around his bladed boots didn't fade – his spell hadn't been cancelled. With a quick flick the assassin stuffed his knife back into his belt, just in time to dodge another shield, which cut a good foot off his scarf – he snarled. He wasn't as lucky with the third shield, which caught him full in the chest and sent him flying back.

The light around him had faded, but given that the assassin was grinning like a maniac, it wasn't because his spell had failed.

"Farewell~" the assassin said happily, propped up on his elbows in the dirt. He gave a brief wave, and disappeared.

In his place stood five new human monsters, each emitting a ghostly aura just like the assassin's. Keiran had time to register a male Lord Knight and a High Priestess before they were lost out of sight behind a clump of trees.

Kuronosu willed Labyrinth to a halt, although how was a mystery, as he had one arm around Keiran's legs and there was another swordsman over his other shoulder, whom he was presumably holding onto as well… Darius had also been picked up by Kuronosu, and was draped over Labyrinth's neck, clinging to the breastplate desperately.

"Is everyone okay?" Kuronosu asked in a strained voice, helping Darius to dismount.

"We're not dead, if that's what you mean," one of the knight swordsmen muttered as Keiran extracted his hands from Kuronosu's cape and the other swordsman was swung back to the ground.

"I'm very sorry. I had no idea those monsters could be summoned through the branches yet." Kuronosu apologised, assisting Keiran down too.

There was a small group of them here, away from the fighting – three Lord Knights and four Paladins, including the woman whose peco had the sore leg, as well as what Keiran guessed was the entirety of the participating swordsmen. All of them looked worried.

"By rights they shouldn't be." The green-haired female Paladin said, redoing her peco's bandage with shaking hands. "We only discovered them two months ago."

"What can you tell us about him?"

She shook her head. "Not much I'm afraid. We met him – Eremes Guile, the _original _Eremes, once while we explored the dungeon, and we were lucky to escape him in one piece…" She scratched her peco between the eyes. "He deals in poison, as you've seen… And uses pretty much every skill an Assassin Cross does."

"Even EDP?" one of the Lord Knights asked, holding his wild eyed peco back with difficulty as it tried to bolt.

"Fortunately not, no."

"Good. Then he'll be a breeze." The Lord Knight turned his peco and charged back to the battle, sword in hand.

"Easy for him to say, he's a PvP champion. Excels in taking out sins, apparently," said another LK, his voice dripping with loathing.

"It's not Eremes he'll be fighting," the Paladin woman said, "it's his slaves. Eremes stays hidden for the most part, appearing only when he has a clear shot at killing someone."

Kuronosu was looking most worried. "Celia, can you stay here with the swordsmen?"

The green haired Paladin nodded, "I suggest you find the Lord Knight called Regan, he was in the party when we met Eremes; he'll probably be more helpful than me."

"I know him, I'll go." The Lord Knight who hadn't said anything previously turned his peco and followed after the other LK.

Spinning Labyrinth around, Kuronosu stared down at the swordsmen, his eyes flicking from one face to another. "Promise- _promise_ me you won't go back out there."

_We promised Hikari we wouldn't move, but we still ended up on the middle of it._ Keiran thought to himself, but as he had no desire to die so young, he nodded along with everyone else.

As soon as he and the other Paladins were out of sight, an excited but nervous chatter broke out.

Keiran ignored them, even when Darius tried to get his attention – he was staring intently at one of the trees.

"Keiran?" Darius was saying. "Are you okay?"

"He's not sick again is he?" That was Alex.

"Nope! I'm just fine, never been better!" Keiran strode forward and put his palms flat on the tree's trunk.

"… You don't seem fine." Kiba said dryly.

"Oh I am." He looked up the length of the trunk thoughtfully. "I suggest you back up a bit, Darius."

"What? Why?" Darius sounded extremely confused, and a little concerned for his sanity. It was all quite amusing really.

"Coz ya'll get kicked in teh head if ya don't~" Keiran grinned, and as Darius shuffled back, jumped and seized the lowest branch of the tree with both hands, heaving himself up.

"… That doesn't look safe." Kiba commented mildly, watching the branch bend under his weight as Keiran stood up, his hand on the trunk for support.

"Oh don't worry; tree climbing is one of my specialities." Keiran winked down at them before scrambling to the next branch, peering out towards the pond. He could see the Snake Lord, hissing and biting at its attackers, but could see nothing of the assassin's minions yet. _Higher…_

"So…" said Kiba, having to raise his voice a little to be heard over the creaking of branches, "What are you doing, exactly?"

"He's climbing a tree, duh."

"Hey Blank!" Keiran yelled down at him.

"Hey faggot." Blank said, his eyes narrowed as he looked up.

_Oh riiiight, he doesn't like me… _Keiran thought, hanging from a branch to see if it was a suitable ledge; it didn't look it. And sure enough, as Keiran placed his full weight on it, it cracked, sending bits of rotten wood showering to the ground. "Sorry!" he yelled to whoever was spluttering down below, regaining his footing on a limb he knew was okay.

"Fucking retard!"

_Oh, figures._

When he was finally high enough to see what the nearest group were up to, Keiran settled himself down on a branch, shivering as a very cruel laugh drifted up to him.

The assassin was nowhere to be seen, however his minions were still at large. Keiran could pick them out by looking to the centre of the mobs of pecopecos and picking out the person who looked out of place. Here was a lanky but heavily muscled Whitesmith, swinging his axe around his head in circles, laughing insanely as his assailants darted around, trying to break through. Over there was the High Priestess, dressed all in pink, calmly healing her companions from the safety of a pink cylinder, inside which no one seemed to be able to hit her. Some distance from her a female High Wizard was brought to her knees, her spell dying in her throat as she faded into nothingness, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

And here was the closest of the monsters, but Keiran had to look hard to spot him; a ghostly Lord Knight was duelling with another, more solid Lord Knight. The pair of them looked to be having the time of their lives, much to the surprise of the crowd hovering uncertainly nearby, waiting to jump in as the pair chatted away. Keiran could hear bits of what they were saying - something about the price of oridecon and whether leather would be a better alternative to cotton for their gloves. The ghost lord knight then complained about the condition of the pecos 'back in his day' compared to the ones they had now.

Keiran gave up listening. _Madness!_ However his attention was still fixed on the knights' group, as, one by one, people were starting to drop like flies, falling from their surprised pecos to land in any number of awkward positions on the floor, clutching their legs, arms or any other exposed areas where arrow shafts were poking out, still quivering.

There was a rustling below him and he glanced down to see Darius sitting on a branch further down the tree.

"What's happening?" he asked. "Everyone wants to know."

Keiran looked to the ground, and sure enough, nearly all of the swordsmen were looking up at him expectantly. "Wow, talk about pressure." He looked back to the battlefield. "They already killed a High Wizard woman."

Darius relayed this to the others then looked back at Keiran, "Celia says she's called Kathyrne Keyron."

"Kay," said Keiran. Was it really necessary to know their names? "They're just bringing down a High Priestess now." And they were – the pink barrier had gone, leaving the priestess defenceless as she disappeared, shrieking and flailing her staff, under a pile of pecos.

"Margaretha Sorin" Darius said after a minute.

"Yeah she's gone. There's a Lord Knight monster chatting about the cost of berserk pots duelling some dude… Looks like they could there a while. And there's a Whitesmith having a spazz trying to decapitate everyone."

"… Lord Seyren Windsor and Howard Alt-Eisen."

"He's a Lord?" Keiran glanced down.

"He _was_ a Lord." Darius said soberly, "He's dead now."

"Obviously, I can see through him. I think there's a Sniper or something too. Something with arrows, but I can't find it…" He scanned the crowds carefully.

"Cecil Damon. Celia says to look for a woman with long blonde hair."

No sooner had he said it that Keiran spotted her; wondering how he had missed her since she stuck out like a sore thumb. She was, as Celia had said, blonde and very tall; standing on a rocky outcrop casually slotting her huge bow with an arrow, pulling it back easily as her muscles bulged with effort, and taking careful aim.

Keiran found himself watching with morbid curiosity, unable to look away, as she released her arrow, sending it straight and true into the unprotected stomach of a female Paladin, who had been trying to free her peco from a trap.

He must have gasped aloud or something, because Darius sounded worried as he asked "Keiran? What happened? What is it?"

"The sniper chick, she's doing some serious damage- more than all the others put together."

There was another rustle and a chorus of creaking branches and then Kiba was beside him on the branch, "isn't anyone trying to take her out?"

Keiran pointed to her – she was standing alone on her rock; anyone who tried to get near her seemed to … get stuck and were quickly shot down.

"Oh she's trapping them" Kiba said, as if this were the most obvious fact in the world. "You probably can't see the traps themselves…" He grinned slyly. "I forgot you're blind."

Resisting the very enticing urge to push him out of the tree, Keiran scanned the battle for people he knew – a tricky task as everyone had donned their battle headgear and looked completely different. But there was Pip, rushing around with another knight, handing out potions. And over by the Whitesmith was Breakthru… at least it _looked_ like Breakthru, looking totally unfazed as he healed himself, the blue threads linking him to five separate Lord Knights glowing strongly as they parried the axe swings.

"Looks like Kuronosu's on it." Kiba said, snapping Keiran from his trance.

"What?"

"The sniper chick – they're getting through her traps, look."

Keiran looked, just in time to see Kuronosu and a mob of knights and crusaders clambering onto the rock with difficulty – armour isn't designed for going mountain climbing in, their pecos hovering patiently at the base.

The sniper screamed in rage, continuing to fire her arrows even at such close range until she was hit in the chest by a Paladin shield and sent tumbling to the ground where she was set upon by a waiting mob like a pack of wolves on a rabbit.

"Somehow… when the monster's human, it seems really unfair to gang bash them like that." Kiba said.

"Oh shut up, she would have taken _everyone_ out if they hadn't bashed her." Keiran replied, scowling.

"What's happening?" asked Darius from beneath them.

Keiran grinned down at him apologetically. "Oh sorry, forgot about you."

"Jee thanks."

"Um, they got the Sniper. And the Whitesmith's just about had it." Keiran observed, watching as a Knight rammed his sword into Howard's chest, right up to the hilt. Surprisingly, there was no blood. Howard stopped his maniacal laughing and stared at the Knight in disbelief. The rest of Howard's aggressors jumped at their chance and added their own swords until the Whitesmith resembled a ghostly human pincushion. He roared in anger, swiping randomly at people until he finally gave a last frustrated bellow and shuddered, fading away.

"DON'T KILL THE LORD KNIGHT!!"

The cry drifted up to Keiran as Kuronosu charged past on his peco, cutting in front of the mob that was heading determinedly toward the still duelling knights, who were, Keiran could hardly believe it, debating whether fish and chips tasted better with vinegar.

"If you kill him the assassin will summon the whole mob back!" Kuronosu yelled, "Just leave him!!"

The warriors hovered uncertainly, the knights more so than the crusaders, why did they have to take orders from a _Paladin_?

"Knights, find Eremes!" Philip ordered, rushing to Kuronosu's side from nowhere. "Crusaders, heal the wounded!"

The knights sprang into action at once, rushing off in all directions, many of them with bright balls of fire circling their heads.

"Horong cards," murmured Kiba, "nice."

The majority of crusaders remained standing, looking to Kuronosu for confirmation as others ran to help the fallen.

Kuronosu nodded. "Do it."

Keiran wasn't watching them anymore – he'd just spotted someone sitting in a tree a way across the desert, but close enough for him to make out that they were smiling unpleasantly as they looked at the ground below them, where a Paladin was squatting, healing a gurgling Lord Knight who had taken an arrow to the neck.

"Eremes..." he muttered.

"What?" Kiba stared at him, and then followed Keiran's gaze to the tree where the assassin was perched.

Eremes' eyes narrowed and he looked up, directly towards them. Keiran felt like his blood had frozen – the assassin was looking straight at him, he couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't _think_. Smiling nastily, he held one long thin finger up to his lips in a gesture everyone knows; '_shhh_'. Drawing a narrow blade the length of his forearm, he looked back down at his oblivious prey.

"Oh shit. Oh shit." Kiba spluttered before jumping down to a lower branch. "Darius, tell Celia: Eremes is in a tree that way. He's above a Pally and an LK"

Darius' eyes widened in horror and he nodded, scrambling back down the tree.

"Keiran!"

Keiran wasn't listening – the Paladin had just got to his feet, his hand held out to the Lord Knight, who was staring into the tree in terror. Before the Paladin had time to look up, Eremes made his move.

He leapt cat-like from the tree, his skirt fluttering behind him, and landed squarely on the Paladin's shoulders - the Paladin staggered under his weight, but remained standing, swiping at the assassin with his huge hands. Eremes avoided capture easily; hopping lightly over the pally's arms as happily as if he were a child playing jump rope, his dagger swinging loosely in one hand.

Laughing coldly, Eremes tossed his dagger and caught it deftly so it was pointing the other way, with his thumb pointing away from the blade – the way you held weapons if you were going to stab someone behind you. The Paladin lurched to the left, trying to dislodge his unwelcome passenger, but the assassin stayed onboard easily.

He was no longer laughing; instead his expression was cold, calculating. Then, quite suddenly he struck, plunging his knife straight down into the Paladin's shoulder, into the tiny gap between the armour plates.

The Paladin blinked in surprise, his hand slipping from where it had finally caught the assassin's ankle, and coughed; a trickle of blood ran down his chin. He swayed once and toppled forwards; the assassin leaped lightly to the ground with his knife in hand, a gentle stream of blood dripping from the tip, peppering the sand with crimson.

Eremes walked casually around the twitching Paladin once, completely ignoring the terrified Lord Knight who was trying to merge with the tree, and paused by the Paladin's head, squatting down, his knife glittering in the sun. He seized a handful of the man's hair and pulled his head back, so his throat was exposed. The assassin trailed the tip of his blade across his neck lazily, just enough to draw blood...

"Oh my God..." Keiran found himself saying, his hand closed around his crucifix.

"Keiran?"

"He's going to kill him." He was shocked by the tremor in his voice.

"Keiran, it's alright. Kuronosu should be on his way." Darius was climbing the tree towards him, but he couldn't take his eyes off the smirking assassin.

He shook his head. "There's no time."

However, just as he finished saying it, the assassin was flung backwards, a spear quivering where it was stuck in his shoulder. Help had arrived.

Several Paladins leapt from their pecos to their fallen comrade's side, blocking him from view as they showered him in healing spells.

"Can they really heal an internal wound like that?" Keiran asked quietly, aware that he was shaking.

Darius squeezed his shoulder bracingly. "As long as the blade wasn't poisoned, he'll be okay."

Keiran nodded mutely, watching as Eremes yanked the spear out with a snarl, shaking his katar blades into place as he glared around at his circling foes. He looked very much like a cornered cat, with his fangs bared and claws out and hissing like the Snake Lord which had long since fallen. With the Lord Knights using their borrowed Sight spell, he couldn't cloak, making it impossible for him to get away undetected.

In a whirl of brown and purple, Eremes attacked, striking repeatedly at the closest Lord Knight so quickly his arms were a blur. The knight fell back, bleeding freely, and another took his place; this one had devotion in place. Eremes turned his attention to him instead.

Then the bleeding knight was suddenly glowing bright red and she pushed her way back to the front with a mad look in her eyes, the blood from her previous injuries frozen in place as she hacked insanely at the assassin, who hissed in anger and slashed with his katars in a seemingly pointless way. There was a whoosh and a noise like breaking glass, and a wave of purple passed over the closest fighters. As one they staggered back, some falling to their knees looking dazed. Eremes sneered in triumph and used his skill again, repelling those who had come back for seconds, just as he was caught on the shoulder by a bladed shield.

The shield whirled off into the distance, and _turned around_, coming back to hit the assassin again, and again, ripping Eremes' shirt to shreds and cutting deep gashes into his pale skin. He staggered back, watching the shield do yet another u-turn and spin back to a Paladin, who caught it in one hand, his expression grim. It was Hikari.

The shield he'd thrown was different to the one he'd been carrying before – this one looked like it had been designed especially for throwing at people; it was like a giant shuriken with hooks and points all over it.

Sei threw up his head and called, echoed by tens of other pecopecos – Keiran miraculously felt his fear fading, and even began to feel confident that the battle was won. Was there an extra skill somewhere that he'd missed learning about that somehow endowed strength of heart?

There was a whoosh and a huge glowing cross appeared on the ground beside Eremes, who writhed as the holy magic touched him, screaming a long stream of curses at the crusaders and their God. The crusaders, enraged by the blasphemy, doubled their onslaught, throwing every skill they had at the assassin, who continued to shriek as he sliced desperately at them, eyes flicking constantly in search of an exit. Every time he tried to slip out of the fray, someone would throw themselves in the way and he'd be forced back into the middle where he was pounded from above by countless circling shields - often ricocheting off each other and spinning off in completely random directions, their owners chasing after them, laughing quite happily now the battle was nearly won. The infuriated Eremes tried his venom dust attack again, but Eilk was suddenly there, tossing handfuls of her antidote powder so skilfully that no one seemed affected by the poison at all.

"nAARAAAAAGHRRRRHRRAAAAHGHfn!" Eremes roared in frustration, attacking wildly in flashes of purple – the effectiveness of his attacks however were cut short by the fact he had one arm over his head, trying to fend of the particularly persistent barbed shield of Hikari, which almost seemed to have a life of its own, barely returning to its master before returning to slice and tear once more. Keiran was thankful the monster didn't bleed – he didn't think he could handle _that _much gore.

Eremes was then hit from above by an image of a very heavy, very bulky-looking cross. Despite it being transparent, the assassin seemed to feel it as though it were solid and he staggered, collapsing to his knees as another Crusader used Grand Cross again and again, sending the assassin scrabbling away, no longer screaming, but whimpering in pain.

Keiran couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for him however; cheering along with the rest as a Lord Knight strode forward to bring the sharp hilt of his sword down on the assassin's skull with enough force to drop a fully grown dragon. There was an audible crack and Eremes dropped into the sand, moving no more.

The Lord Knight Seyren paused in his duel and looked over. "Well, I'll be damned," he said as he disappeared, shouting a thank you and farewell to the Lord Knight he had been fighting.

The cheer rose in volume as everyone joined in, until the very tree Keiran was sitting in shook with the intensity of it. He felt giddy with relief, watching the knights and crusaders pulling each other into huge bear hugs and throwing themselves around their peco's necks, yelling triumphantly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised he'd just witnessed his first war victory – he might not have been fighting, but he could sure as hell feel the triumph along with those who had, and it was a great feeling.

* * *


	7. Part 7: Damage and Drops

Dum dee doo~

Really short chapter this time. :3

Characters belong to their respective owners (mainly me), no stealing.

I don't own Ragnarok, never will.

* * *

Half an hour later found them all sprawled back in the shade, watching Pip sort through their items (some of which had been stolen by passing drops monsters), dividing them into piles by their usefulness.

Keiran had taken his boots and socks off and was splashing his feet in the water, much to the horror of a pair of knight swordswomen, who were trying to drink from it.

"You're disgusting," one of them said; Keiran noted mildly that her hair was nearly the exact same colour as his.

"Would you rather I did that?" He gestured lazily to the far end of the pool, where a number of guys were reclining, chest-deep in water, against the banks, wearing nothing but their breeches. They were surrounded by giggling girls, wearing the bare minimum of their uniforms, presumably attracted by the sheer amount of muscle the guys sported.

One of the girls continued to look disgusted, but the other looked like she wanted to say yes. Keiran grinned at her, "alas! I'm but a weak swordsman – Look! No abs even." He lifted his tunic, revealing his un-muscled but perfectly flat stomach.

The girl blushed and ran away, her hand over her mouth to smoother her excited giggles, followed by her scowling friend.

Darius hit him. "Knock it off."

"I don't see you sitting around in your undies – does that mean you're as muscle-less as me?" He lifted his shirt again to show Darius, earning himself a slap on the stomach with Darius' book.

"Check these out," Kiba said, rolling over and tugging his tunic up, revealing a nice detectable six-pack. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh wow." Keiran said, staring. "How'd you manage that?"

"Sit ups, bro, sit ups." Kiba flexed them proudly. "A hundred, every night before bed. Go on, have a feel."

"Oh-em-gee, are you gay?" Alex asked, dragging himself up to the bank; he'd been swimming lengths of the pool – Keiran found his apparent lack of fatigue a source of much jealousy. He too had a nice set of just-visible abs; another cause for envy.

"No, it's just it's hard to appreciate them only by looking."

"Alright then." Keiran brandished a hand, almost knocking Darius' book into the water ('Careful!') "Alex, come 'ere, let's see whose abs are better."

Alex laughed, heaving himself out of the pool in a shower of drops, sending several girls running in search of tissues for their nose bleeds. He didn't seem to notice, plonking himself down beside Kiba who eyed his stomach up peevishly as he stripped his shirt off.

"He's so gonna win," he said with a defeated air as Keiran edged forward.

"By looks... Hmmm..." Keiran rubbed his chin, peering from one set of abs to the other, "I'd have to say... Alex's. But only just," he added hastily. "And it's only coz he has a tan."

"That's not fair! Izlude's sunnier than Prontera at this time of year!" Kiba protested as Keiran stuck his hand on his stomach.

"Yours are harder," he said thoughtfully, "but Alex's are bigger."

"How many sit ups do _you_ do?" Kiba asked the smirking Alex.

"None!" Alex grinned.

"Oh _whatever!_" Kiba shoved him, sending him rolling back into the water with a splash.

"Keiran!" Darius said indignantly, holding his book to his chest protectively.

Keiran spluttered. "It wasn't me!"

"It wasn't this time, actually," said Astarte, possibly coming to get a better view of the yaoi-y goodness, or in the vain hope that Darius too might strip off.

You had to look very hard to find anyone still in full armour now. Most people had undressed at least to their shirts and pants, the younger, more foolhardy males abandoning their shirts too. The women were wandering around in their tiny miniskirts, somehow a lot more obvious without their armour to draw your attention away, and their tunics tied up exposing their bellies.

Keiran found himself absentmindedly watching a pair of knight girls playing in the water on their pecos, shrieking in laughter as the pecos shook themselves, showering them in droplets. The female members of their groups were, Keiran was glad to see, much more finely muscled than their male counterparts, (with the exception of one or two who looked like they'd been born with a little too much testosterone; Keiran wrinkled his nose in disgust, women shouldn't have muscles that big) with flat stomachs or just visible abs, respectable biceps and shoulders that looked like they could actually support a decent weight without snapping, unlike some of the girls around town.

Keiran looked around as Astarte sat next to him, carefully pushing Kiba's sweaty shirt out of the way with her foot. Kiba meanwhile had been dragged kicking and screaming into the water by Alex and a fellow knight swordie, and was being submitted to a good drowning.

"Nice legs." Keiran said, eyeing them openly. It wasn't often he got to see female legs these days, what with the swordswomen and their huge skirts and the older ladies with their armour all over the place... And Saphira seemed to think she had fat thighs and refused to wear anything revealing more than her ankles. But Astarte had dumped her petticoats and had tucked her skirt under her belt on one side... It was a good look on her…

"You just watch yourself or I'll tell Saph you were checking out those knights." She scowled at them.

"I was _not_ checking them out!" Keiran protested. "And I was serious about your legs."

"Okay I'll tell her you were checking _me _out, happy?"

"No! No, I'm not!"

Astarte grinned. "It's okay, I won't tell. I'm sure you're not the only taken guy who's dribbling over all these sluts while their girlfriends aren't here."

Keiran stared at her. Who was she to be calling people sluts when you could see her underwear if you tilted your head a little _that_ way. She hit him.

"Ouch. So what brings you here anyway?" Keiran asked, rubbing his head.

"A little birdy told me there was a blue haired swordsman showing off his abs (or lack-there of) over here, and since I doubted very much she was talking about Darius, I decided to come remind you that you have a girlfriend, for the hundredth time."

"If you want to see them that bad you could just ask, you know."

"I have no interest in you or your stomach, thank you very much."

"BURNED." Alex laughed at him, knocking Kiba's legs out from under him as he emerged, spluttering, from underwater.

"Thank you Alex. Bet you'd like to see Darius' though, huh?"

Astarte stared.

Keiran turned to face Darius, who looked up from his book politely and said, "yes?"

"Gimme your book a sec." Keiran said, snatching it from his hands, making sure to put the bookmark in to save himself a lot of pain and suffering later. He raised it over his head as Darius dived for it, holding it just out of reach.

"Keiran, if you're not reading it, give it back." Darius said, lunging across again.

Keiran grinned evilly, trying not to look at Alex, who was creeping up behind Darius, in case he gave him away. He raised the book a little higher, so that Darius' arms were stretched above his head, and in a quick movement Alex had seized the base of Darius' shirt and tugged it over his head.

Laughing, Keiran dumped the book back in his lap, hopping back out of the danger zone. Alex had made a hasty return to the safety of the water, leaving Darius' shirt on the bank.

Darius blinked down at his bare chest as if he'd never seen it before, and then looked up. Keiran didn't know quite what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't what Darius did next – he shrugged and picked up his book, saying quite offhandedly, "suit yourselves" as he disappeared behind it once again.

Keiran gaped at him. _He didn't even hit me, what the hell._ He looked over at Astarte who quickly stopped staring at Darius' chest and cleared her throat.

"Soooo... I'm surprised you haven't stripped off too, Keiran, gone and joined that lot and their mob of squealing fan curls- Imean -girls." Astarte coughed.

"Are you joking? I'd look like a _stick_ next to them. A twig even!" Keiran pretended to ignore her mistake – he could see why she'd said it; Darius' blue curls were ruffled, sticking up in all sorts of strange directions making him look like he'd just got up, an image helped greatly by the lack of shirt. Maybe Astarte found this look attractive.

She was gazing at the guys in the water now, possibly imagining Keiran sitting next to them. They were all very big. Keiran thought he could tell the crusaders from the knights by the way the muscles were balanced – the paladins with their huge shoulders and broad backs from hurling shields around, and the knights with their powerful arms... But he could've been making it up. And yes, he would certainly have looked like a twig beside them – he suspected that _that_ possibly-a-Paladin had more muscle on his chest then Keiran had on his entire body.

"So you're scared you'll be outdone?"

"Nope. I'm scared I'll get sunburnt," he said honestly.

Astarte snorted. "With skin _that_ dark? I don't think so."

"Olive people get burnt too you know!" Keiran persisted. "LOOK, see this?" he pulled his hair aside, brandishing the back of his neck where he'd been burnt earlier.

"... That's a hicky," said Astarte sounding both disturbed and amused.

"Oh I forgot about that, I _told _her not to bite me where people-"

"Okay yeah we get it." Astarte said hastily, holding up her hands. "No more details, please."

"What? We were just kissing."

"No more!" she covered her ears with her hands and whistled.

Keiran sighed and went back to staring at Darius, as he was an interesting focal point and Astarte wouldn't hit him for it. He'd never seen Darius so... exposed before – he usually left the room to get changed and even on the hottest days (not that there had been that many yet) he was never to be found shirtless. Whereas Keiran had zilch shame and was often spotted lounging around with no shirt and his pants undone, much to Darius' horror.

Right now Darius was in serious danger of turning into a tomato – his skin was very fair, and Keiran doubted he could handle even 10 minutes in the desert sun before he started to burn, in fact he was already starting to rub the back of his neck and cast dark glances at the sun as if he wished it would go behind a cloud for a bit. Keiran dropped his eyes a little lower to his belly, and started silently comparing and contrasting himself and Darius. The first thing he observed was that Darius was a completely different shape to him, which he'd never really noticed before. Darius had the figure of a teenage boy who was destined to be over 6'0" - in other words he was very lean, with graceful limbs and already a decent height, taller than Keiran anywho. Keiran however had grown like a girl, filling out in all the right places as he'd gotten taller, and as a result had rather broad shoulders already, making him a little on the stocky side – possibly the reason he had such a hard time running. _Yeah make excuses, you're just unfit,_ he told himself.

Darius, Keiran was pleased to see, also had no visible abs, and sported a flat stomach like a girl's. Keiran wondered how long it would be before they too had chests you could scrubs clothes on.

Not all the guys around had muscles that you could cut meat on however. Pip was a good example – he had even less muscle on his chest than Darius, but his biceps were plenty evident as he stroked the deep brown hair of his (Keiran had issues even thinking it) _boyfriend, _ who was snoozing in his lap. This guy had muscles, but they weren't huge – only a little more obvious than Alex or Kiba's. And there was a male crusader (he could tell from the peco) with no abs at all but only a flat plain which you could have slid a hanky down without it sticking. _What._

And over _there_ was a group of people, most of which looked as if they wouldn't be able to lift the swords and shields laying on the ground beside them as they rolled dice to see who would get the hat the Evil Snake Lord had been wearing.

Astarte gave a sharp intake of breath and Keiran looked up. Juris was stalking past, wearing tight jeans and a blood-stained tunic with the neck undone; his armour elsewhere (Keiran wondered if there was going to be a lot of confusion later as everyone tried to find what belonged to them).

"Hey Juris." Keiran said, causing Astarte to start in surprise.

Juris swung his head round to glare at him down his nose. His expression softened slightly with recognition and he even gave a flicker of a smile, "hey."

"Were you looking for someone?" Astarte asked curiously, apparently oblivious to the Lord Knight's I-will-kill-you aura. _Ohhh_, Keiran remembered, _she likes assassin types_. He deliberated briefly what she's thought of Eremes. She'd probably thought he was hot. Keiran shuddered at the memory of the assassin's smirk as he'd looked down at the Paladin, calculating just where the weak points on his armour were... At least he didn't have to worry about the world knowing he'd nearly gone to pieces because of the monster – Darius had been the only one nearby and he wouldn't tell anyone. Hopefully.

Juris eyed her critically, "yes actually. You haven't seen Kuronosu around have you? I was told he was doing the D&D report. There's some wanker over there claiming he found an Ice Pick..."

"D&D?"

"Damage and drops."

"Oh, yeah, he's over there." Astarte pointed to where the Paladin was lounging in the shade, a slight frown on his face as he scribbled on a notepad while a Knight gesticulated wildly at him. Keiran noticed the Knight's right hand was heavily bandaged. Philip reclined beside him, his arms behind his head and a smile on his face. There was a giggling mob of girls lurking close by, readjusting their bras and flipping her hair over their shoulders as they eyed Kuronosu up. He too had abandoned his armour and was wearing his shirt undone, his washboard abs showing.

Juris had moved away, with a brief word of thanks to Astarte, who was looking like she'd seen the hottest guy in the world.

"Oh my God." she whispered.

"He's really scary." Keiran informed her helpfully.

"Am I that easy to read?"

"You are when you can't take your eyes off him and say _oh my God_ in a tone that suggests you'd like to see if you can fit into his tiny, _tiny_ jeans."

"Oh shut it, I did not sound like that."

Keiran smirked, kicking a load of water at Kiba, who was swimming past in hot pursuit of Yule, who had procured a bikini from _somewhere_ and was holding what appeared to be Kiba's boot above her head. "But you don't deny you'd like to get in his pants?"

Astarte said nothing.

Sighing dramatically, Keiran tilted his head innocently in Darius' direction. "Will you really give up on him so easily?"

"Shut up."

"He's but a poor innocent boy in need of love!" Keiran wailed, striking a theatrical pose. Darius remained thankfully oblivious, as usual, to Keiran's teasing.

Suddenly he found himself underwater, spluttering as he fought his way to the surface; the water was chest-deep, but with someone leaning on your shoulders, it seemed a lot deeper. "What the shit!" He spluttered as he surfaced, lifting his sopping arms, water streaming off his long-sleeved tunic, "awww no it'll take ages to dry!"

Behind him Alex roared with laughter, having pulled him in by the ankles, and on the bank Astarte smirked.

Keiran looked from one to the other. "Since when have you two been in cahoots?"

"We haven't." Astarte sniggered, "he just happened to pull you at the same time I pushed you."

He yanked his shirt off unceremoniously, earning a whistle from a girl somewhere on the banks, and tossed the soaking mass at Astarte, who shrieked and rolled out of the way.

Not for the first time he was thankful he had naturally dark skin, as he didn't have to worry about the embarrassment of being pasty white that others like Darius did, spring and its sunny days having just started (Darius had turned pink, but was reaching for his shirt now).

"Excuse me, are you Keiran?" said someone.

Keiran blinked. Standing beside Darius was the Paladin that Keiran had watched being attacked by the assassin monster. It was hard to believe he'd been close to death only an hour earlier – only the raised red mark on his bare shoulder and the dark circles under his eyes betrayed it.

"Erm, no sorry" said Darius, smiling up at him as he tugged his tunic back on. "Keiran's-"

"Right here," Keiran finished, wading toward the bank. "Hi."

The Paladin looked around in surprise, "you're Keiran?"

"That's me~"

The Paladin got down on one knee in front of him.

"Whoa whoa, I have a girlfriend, mate-" Keiran protested, waving his hands defensively.

Darius hit him, a very serious look on his face as he shook his head warningly.

The Paladin chose to ignore him, his head bowed. "You saved my life, for which I am immensely thankful – I am forever in your debt."

Keiran gaped at him, his mouth open as the man went on.

"I would like to offer you this as a gift of appreciation, however it doesn't measure up to the gratitude I feel." He held something out in both hands, his eyes still on the ground.

"No, no," Keiran spluttered. "You've got the wrong guy, I didn't do anything-"

The Paladin was shaking his head, "on the contrary; your friend told me that you were the one to spot the assassin."

Keiran glanced over his shoulder to where Kiba was grinning, giving him the thumbs up. "Yeah, but I didn't do-"

"He said he would never have noticed had you not pointed it out." The Paladin was still holding his hands aloft; still hadn't looked up.

Darius was mouthing and gesturing in the background, first picking up an imaginary something, then pointing at his chin and flicking his finger up sharply. _'What?' _Keiran mouthed back.

'_Fake it!'_ Darius mouthed. ... Surely that was wrong. What rhymed with fake? Steak, lake, make, cake? Cake it? No, most certainly not. Take? Take it!

"Um." Keiran said, taking the Paladin's offering. It was another card. "Thank you very much."

The Paladin dropped his hands and bowed his head a little lower, so it was almost touching his knee.

"Errr... You can raise your head." (Darius nodded his approval in the background)

The Paladin did so, staring at Keiran's navel which was level with his eyes, with an intensity that made Keiran want to put a shirt on – possibly a first.

Feeling very lost, Keiran ran a hand through his drying hair. "What's your name?"

"Xin, Sir."

"Sir?!" Keiran yelped. "Shouldn't it be me who says that?"

"No Sir, I haven't been knighted."

"Neither have I! I'm just a swordie!"

Xin shrugged, apparently unsure what to say.

"Look, Xin. I really appreciate this and all but-"

Darius was shaking his head in the background furiously.

"_What am I supposed to say?!"_ Keiran wanted to yell at him.

Xin glanced up questioningly. He was really quite young, maybe 20 or 21, but the sheer amount of muscle on his shoulders and chest made him look older somehow.

"... Thank you." Keiran said, in what he hoped was a politely dismissive tone.

The Paladin didn't move.

"Err, you can go now."

Xin got to his feet and bowed deeply, backing up several paces before turning and walking briskly away.

Keiran flopped on the bank. "What just happened here?" he asked the sand.

"What did he give you?" Kiba asked curiously, wading up behind him.

"I'd like to know I'm holding you responsible for that." Keiran told him, jerking his head in the direction of the Paladin as he brought the card round to where they could see it.

"Oh good God, you're joking me." Kiba spluttered, snatching the card to make sure it was real.

"I don't get it, what did I miss?" Keiran asked thickly. He'd had time to see that the drawing on the front of the card was of an ice wolf with a pacifier...

"It's a Garm Baby card!!" Kiba exclaimed in a low voice, waving it in his face, "they're no use to a swordie, but they're worth lots. And by lots I mean tens of millions!"

Keiran stared. "I can't accept that!" He made to take it back but Darius was suddenly holding his wrist.

"You can't give it back" he said, quite seriously.

"Why not!?"

"It would be a great insult to him."

"It's a great insult to me to be expected to take something this valuable from him!" Keiran half-yelled in disbelief. Darius was insane, the paladin was insane, the whole situation was totally and utterly _insane_.

"Then don't keep it." Darius let go of Keiran's wrist in light of his venomous glare. "Sell it and donate the money to the guild; tell Sir Kuronosu so that he can make sure Xin gets most of it in the end. But you can't give it back."

"Why? Will he die if I do?" Keiran was aware his sarcasm was dripping with acid, but right then he didn't care.

"There is a possibility."

Keiran stared.

Darius sighed. "You have to realise, Keiran, some people hold a lot in store with the old warrior traditions. As you don't read, you probably don't know much of them... but a debt must be repaid in full, and whatever you may say, he has gained the largest debt of them all – you saved his life." He sat down heavily in the sand. "We're in peaceful times; it is likely he could never be presented with an opportunity to return the favour in full – by saving _your _life. And he is young; so he will repay it the only way he thinks he can; with material gifts, until he feels the debt is cancelled, which may, or may not happen before either one or both of you die."

"..." said Keiran.

"Do you understand?" Darius looked at him beseechingly.

"Yes. But, does that mean he's going to keep giving me things forever?"

"It would depend on how highly he values his own life."

"... What would happen if I gave him the card back?"

"If you don't accept his gifts, he will try other methods of repaying the debt, and if you continue to refuse, as his final resort to rid him of the burden, he may kill himself."

Keiran gave an uncertain laugh, but his smile slipped when Darius looked at him sternly.

"Okay..." he said soberly, "I'll do as you suggested."

Darius' expression lightened.

"I don't _want_ him to die either you know."

"I know. It's just important you understand how serious this situation is. It's not something to joke about."

"Yeah..."

"And never tell him it was 'no big deal' that you saved him."

"I'm not that thick. Can we please change the topic; this is seriously killing my mood."

Finally, Darius smiled, picking up his book once more just as Eilk flounced onto the scene.

"Oh hey! Where'd you go?" Keiran asked, glad of the distraction. Somewhere behind him it sounded like Alex was trying to drown Kiba again.

"I had to go talk to the old knight dude."

Alex laughed, "if you're talking about my dad, he's not that old. He's 40. What did he say?"

"Yeah, like I said - old." Eilk grinned at him and the dripping, struggling Kiba. "He wanted to thank me for 'my services' and said he'd be visiting Morroc in the near future to tell Master Varium how much of an asset I am." She puffed out her chest proudly.

"Do I sense a possible guild alliance looming or what?" Astarte said, as Kiba tried to catch Alex in a headlock.

"Yes, look at the love between our guilds, Eilk." Keiran rolled his eyes as Kiba disappeared under the water again in a fountain of bubbles. "Won't the rogues join us?"

She laughed, sitting on the bank and leaning back on her arms. "Gaaah, I'm tired. Who'd have thought detoxing could take so much out of you?"

"You're talking to a bunch of swordslingers here. Most of us didn't even know detox existed until today."

"Point taken."

After being tackled by Alex ('this is SPAAAAAAAAAAARTA!!!1') and submitted to a good dunking, Keiran dragged himself back onto the sand, and lay staring at the sky, listening to the Paladin Celia explain the origins of the monster Eremes and his companions.

They had once been real humans, but were captured by some insane scientists for their experiments in the laboratories of Lighthalzen, also known as Biolab. There were six adults – Eremes, Seyren, Cecil, Kathryne, Margaretha and Howard, and six children – one from each first class. They lived out their short lives in the dungeons below the labs, where they were cloned, over and over. Eventually, as was bound to happen, the clones revolted, killing the scientists and freeing their original selves – their masters. However they couldn't escape the labs and they died out slowly. Their souls had not been laid to rest properly and as a result became the ghostly forms like the Eremes they had fought, swarming so thickly in Biolab that is was almost impossible to stand still in there without being spotted by a clone. The scientists had also become monsters, known now as Removals, which stalked around wearing gas masks and brandishing cattle prods.

It was starting to get chilly; the sun was sinking lower in the sky. No one was in the water anymore, and many were retrieving their armour and pecos, saddling up for the ride to Izlude. It was interesting watching people walking around – they moved completely differently when they weren't weighed down by their armour. With armour, Paladins, males especially, tended to stroll everywhere because they couldn't lift their legs any higher than 2 inches off the ground, but without they could relax. Hikari for example, with his rippled stomach and ivory skin, walked with a confident swagger, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his jeans. Leo slouched past once or twice, showing off his scarred back and followed closely each time by his peco, who slouched just as much. Practically skipping, Grobyc had followed a strolling Kuronosu twice around the pool, pointing out all the girls who were eyeing their 2IC hopefully.

Pip beckoned to the swordsmen of his party, i.e. Kiba, Alex, Darius, Arthur, Bahaa and Keiran, and they gathered round, eyeing the piles of stuff greedily. Arthur had spent the last couple of hours sleeping, and although it had been quite tempting to throw him in the water, Keiran wasn't sure he could swim, and so hadn't spared him much more than a glance. Bahaa had only just drifted back from where he'd been gawping at a Lord Knight with possibly the biggest boobs Keiran had ever seen.

"Kay, so here's our stuff!" Pip clapped his hands excitedly. "I gave the others first choice, I hope you don't mind."

No one did, and Pip continued with a wide smile, "if you see something you want, grab it. If someone else wants it, roll a dice over it – highest number gets it." Pip placed a bundle of red dice before them. "Off you go."

Keiran let everyone scrabble over the items, occasionally picking out things no one else seemed interested in including a rosary with green rocks inlaid in it, a katana like Darius', although it wasn't as flash, a pair of sunglasses and a bag full of junk like a lump of coral, empty bottles and a pair of handcuffs ("do I even want to know why you're keeping those?" said Astarte).

And then it was time to go. Pip gathered up the remaining items and stuffed them into sacks which he slung over his peco's neck, before mounting and charging off to join his dark haired friend.

Hikari came and fetched Keiran, with many apologies that he hadn't come to see them earlier. Keiran managed to say a sleepy farewell to Eilk, who promised to come visit, and compliment Hikari on his shield boomeranging before he fell asleep, shielded from the ever increasing cold by Hikari's white cape, which the Paladin had wrapped around him.


	8. Part 8: Knights can throw parties?

Aaah yes, parties...

Thanks for reading~

Warning, this chapter contains extremely small doses of yaoi and yuri. ;D

Characters belong to their respective owners; Ragnarok and related stuff belongs to Gravity.

* * *

"Keiran."

It was a nice sort of voice, really. Now who did it belong to again..?

"Keiran, wake up."

The owner of the voice was shaking him gently. Reluctantly he opened his eyes. He was on his back, staring at an unfamiliar roof; Darius was standing beside the bed, his hand still on Keiran's shoulder.

"Morning," he said sleepily.

"Evening, you mean." Darius smiled.

"Wha-?" Keiran paused mid-stretch. "What day is it? What's the time?"

"It's still the day of the DB event and the time is 7.30pm."

"Why?"

"I thought you might like to know: there's a party just starting downstairs."

Keiran sat up so fast his head spun, "party!?"

Darius' smile widened; he looked exhausted.

"Where are we, by the way?" Keiran asked, looking around. They were in a stone walled room similar to their room in Prontera, but for the heavy wooden pillars in the corners and the carpeted floors. The room was a comfortable size, warmed and lit by a fire at one end opposite a pair of beds.

"We're in the Knight's Guild castle, in the guest quarters. Hikari carried you up."

"Oh. Are there showers?" Keiran asked, standing up and looking around for his stuff. He found his backpack at the foot of his bed along with his swords and shield.

"Yes."

"Lead on!" Keiran stood up with a flourish, his towel and casual clothes in one hand, shampoo in the other. Then he noticed Darius was still in his sweaty clothes too. "You're coming right? To the party?"

"..." said Darius, looking away.

Keiran pouted. "Please?"

"I don't like parties."

"Have you ever _been_ to one?"

"No but-"

"Then you can't say you don't like them!"

Darius sighed.

"You can leave if you don't like it!" he promised, his hands clasped in front of him.

"... Alright, I'll come." Darius grinned at Keiran jumping up and down in excitement, gathering his own shower gear.

They marched off down the wooden floored halls to the bathroom, which at least was tiled, with not a piece of wood in sight. Keiran wasn't fond of wood. Sure it looked nice, but it caught on fire, didn't it? Stone didn't catch on fire, not easily at least…

Soon the air was thick with steam and the smell of Darius' shampoo – some foreign fruit or another... It smelled good.

"Oi, pass your shampoo a sec," Keiran said, waving his arm over the cubicle wall hopefully.

Darius passed it over without comment and Keiran squinted at the label, enjoying the hot water running down his back, tingling against his sunburn; he wondered how Darius was managing with his. "What the hell is a pomegranate?"

"A fruit."

"Really."

"Mmhmm." Darius' hand appeared above his head.

Keiran handed the bottle back and set to shampooing his own hair, which he was horrified to note had knotted terribly from the long day in the desert. _It's probably all split too_... he thought sulkily, rubbing his shampoo into his fringe aggressively.

"What's in yours?" Darius asked, his voice almost lost in the sounds of cascading water.

"Vanillaaaaaaaa." He danced the bright pink bottle across the top of the cubicle for Darius to see.

"You're such a woman," he laughed lightly.

"Hey, it smells good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, to _men_."

"Oh psh. The ladies dig it."

"Of course, Keiran, whatever you say."

Keiran chuckled, rinsing the last of the shampoo from his hair. At least he sounded a little excited now. These was no fun in going to a party with someone who didn't want to be there, especially if they weren't drinking, as he suspected Darius wouldn't be.

He shut off the water, ringing the excess water from his hair thoughtfully. How to get Darius drunk... Hm.

They got dressed in companionable silence, broken only by Keiran's swearing as he squeezed into his jeans, which appeared to have shrunk – either that or his legs had got thicker; it was a sobering thought. With a final heave he got them over his butt, only to discover they wouldn't do up.

"!!!!" he wailed.

"What's wrong?" Darius asked anxiously.

Keiran charged out of his cubicle, marching straight up to Darius' and flung open the door (no locks). Darius stared at him, paused in the act of buttoning up a plain white shirt.

"LOOK." he pointed at his crotch.

Darius looked, his expression politely incredulous. "So?"

"They won't do up! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!!" Keiran shrieked, gripping his friend by the shoulders.

"You need new pants?"

"Yes! NO! It means!! I put on weight! I'M _FAT!!!"_

Darius carefully extracted himself from Keiran's grip. "You're not fat. Why are you wearing such tight pants anyway? Surely that's not good for you." Darius was wearing a pair of tidy black pants.

"It's what I'm comfortable wearing." Keiran sniffed, tugging hopefully at the fly.

Darius sceptically eyed the seams of the jeans, which were threatening to pop, stretched tight across Keiran's thighs, "right."

"What do I _do? _I didn't bring any others; these jeans have never failed me before!" Keiran slouched out to stand in front of the mirror, as if this would make them easier to do up.

Darius followed him, finishing buttoning his shirt.

"Oh no, you can't wear it like that after 7pm." Keiran said, leaving his pants to rush to Darius' aid. He'd done his shirt up to the second to top hole. Not happening.

"What?" Darius said, looking very confused as Keiran undid the top few buttons – just enough so that Darius' crucifix was showing, resting half way down his breastbone. He wasn't sunburnt at all, lucky bastard.

"If you do it like this it gets people curious, you see - obviously you have a nice chest; you're proud enough to show it off that much, but you don't want to look too desperate or up yourself, not at your level anyway.

"My... level...?" Darius said weakly as Keiran tweaked his collar into a less formal position.

"Yes. It's your first party. If you had it undone any more than that you'd be up to your ears in girls and you won't know how to handle it, equals flustering, equals fail."

Darius eyed himself critically in the mirror, Keiran peering over his shoulder. "I look a bit...for lack of a better word, gay."

"No way. You looked gay _before._" Keiran assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "Now let's see you do your hair."

"What's wrong with how I do my hair usually?"

"There's no _mystery!_" said Keiran, turning away to wrestle with his pants again.

"... Pray tell, oh wise man, how does one achieve this... _mystery _of which you speak?" Darius said in an airy tone.

"Dry it off a bit, I gotta find my shirt, then I shall share my secret knowledge!" Keiran darted back into his cubicle to collect his shirt. He was starting to regret his choice; it was white and close fitting with bits of lace sewn down the front.

"Okay forget me looking gay – What the hell is that?" Darius spluttered with laughter at Keiran's reflection in the mirror.

"I know right." Keiran said with a frown, twisting so he could see what he looked like from behind. "It doesn't go with these jeans at all. I really need my bondage pants."

"Bondage..? As in-"

"Straps, chains, ridiculous amounts of buckles."

Darius stared at him. "There is a lot more to you than meets the eye."

"You see! _Mystery_."

"And I take it that your inability to button your shirt is also part of your _mystery?_" Darius said, taking in Keiran's partially exposed chest, with his silver cross glittering against his dark skin. It was only done up by the two bottom-most buttons, and that was only to hide the fact his pants weren't done up, although he'd thankfully managed to get the fly up without catching himself in it. Oh the woes of fashion.

"Damn straight. But as you can see, my shirt is open more than yours, because I'm a higher level. Usually I would have it completely open, but as I have Saphira to think about, and... pant issues, this will have to do.

Darius snorted.

Keiran turned to the mirror with a flourish, scattering a huge amount of hair products on the counter. Darius stared at them uncertainly.

"First, we add _mystery_." With a small blob of one of the numerous products between his fingers, he carefully raked a lump of hair forward so it fell thinly over his left eye, with more thickness in front of his ear.

"You mean an emo fringe?"

"I prefer the term 'curtain'. It makes girls wonder, do you really have two eyes under there?" Keiran said breezily, adding a mini-curtain to the right side of his face to balance things out. "Of course, your hair is naturally curly, so you won't be able to do it quite the same, but give it a go."

Darius stared at his reflection doubtfully and raised his comb.

Ten minutes later, they emerged from their room, having just deposited their belongings; the back of Keiran's head resembling an angry porcupine and Darius with a hairstyle similar to his usual one but with more _mystery_. Meaning he'd forced his parting slightly further to the right so his hair fell in front of his left eye, curling softly away from his face at the ends.

"It suits you." Keiran had said as Darius poked and prodded it, trying to get it to stay out of his face.

Keiran was on a mission now - he could hear the music as it bounced up the stairs (also wooden). Dragging Darius behind him he followed the sounds and the telltale signs of spilt alcohol and people smoking in the corridors.

He just about got to the door he believed the party to be behind, when he suddenly back-tracked, pausing to gape at a pair of girls making out in a doorway. They giggled and beckoned to him and Darius. Keiran was just about to take a step forward when he heard a little voice screaming in his head. '_You have a girlfriend! You're not available!_' Darius had also grabbed a handful of his shirt, tugging him away with a dazed expression on his face.

Keiran shot the girls an apologetic grin and pushing the door open. And stared.

"Wow," he said, his eyes scanning the room in wonder. "Now _this_ is a party."

The party was well on its way, as they'd spent so long mucking around in the bathroom, and there were plenty of drunken people already, flirting with each other and spilling their drinks on their neighbours. The room was huge, and jammed full of people, some of whom kept disappearing through the double doors at the far end to come back clutching drinks. There were lights sliding across the room, briefly illuminating groups of people dancing with bright colours before moving on the shine on the walls, which were quivering with the bass of the music. It reminded him of a night club, except louder, _much_ louder.

He grinned at Darius who was staring with wide eyes at the swaying crowd of people. "Come on, let's get drinks."

Keiran dragged Darius through the crowd, the other boy clinging desperately to his arm as if scared he'd get lost, towards the doors. They passed a few people Keiran thought he recognised, but they were moving in the opposite direction so he couldn't stop for confirmation as they ploughed through, bursting finally into the light and comparative quiet.

"Keiran!" yelled someone, flinging themselves at him.

"Whoa, hi?" Keiran said, prising the person off his chest carefully to avoid spilling the drink she was carrying. It was Astarte, and she was almost certainly drunk.

"You look hot." she slurred, eyeing him up suggestively.

"Why thank you. Err, so do you." he said truthfully. Maybe she'd gone a little overboard with the black eyeliner, but she was still very attractive all the same. He pulled her close, causing her to suck in a breath, but he only bent to whisper in her ear, "you're falling out of your top."

"I AM?!" She leapt back, stuffing her boobs unceremoniously back into her halter neck. "Oops," she giggled.

"Um," said Darius.

Astarte shrieked and jumped, slopping her drink all over the floor, "ohmyGod Darius. HI!" she grinned widely and rearranged her top again. "How long have you been there? Did you see-?"

Darius smiled at her kindly, "I assure you I saw nothing; I averted my eyes."

"Oh good!" Astarte giggled with relief. "By the way, you look absolutely _stunning_ tonight." She leaned drunkenly towards him.

"I can say the same for you."

"Did you hear that Keiran, he thinks I'm s-stunning!" she roared with laughter, flopping into Keiran's arms. He carefully took her drink out of her unresisting fingers and put it on the bench and sat her down on a vacant seat. "Just sit there a minute and calm down, okay?"

She nodded, biting her lip to stop herself laughing in his face.

As Keiran straightened up, Darius sidled over, looking very concerned, "is she okay?"

"Yeah she's fine. Just really, _really_ drunk." Keiran looked around for someone he recognised.

Suddenly there were arms snaking around his neck and down his chest and he felt a shiver run along his spine. _Girlfriend, girlfriend _he thought desperately, taking a deep breath and turning around. Astarte's face was very close to his, wearing a cheeky smile.

"Let's make Darius jealous," she breathed.

"No, let's not. Astarte, you need to stop and think for a minute before you do something stupid," Keiran said forcefully, pushing her back down onto the seat.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" squeaked Chaku as she bounced into sight, a glass of water clutched tightly in her hands. "She didn't do anything too embarrassing while I was gone did she?"

"Not quite." Keiran said, running a hand through his hand and wrinkling his nose at the sticky residue now on his hand from the product he'd used on it. _I won't be using _that_ one again._

Chaku pressed the water into Astarte's hands and while she sniffed hopefully at it, she turned to face Keiran and the aghast Darius. "I know I shouldn't have left her but she really needs the water, and there was no one to watch her for me, and- oh no. Astarte sit down please!" she rushed to retrieve Astarte from where she was trying to sneak a sip of some random guy's drink, the owner of which looking amusedly down at her.

"Is _that_ what alcohol does to you?" Darius asked, as Astarte waved drunkenly at him before collapsing on the floor in a fit of giggles; Chaku flailing in despair. "I don't think I want any."

"That's what alcohol does to you when you drink _too much." _Keiran said soberly, making a beeline for the bar.

"Shouldn't we stay and look after her?"

"No."

"You sound certain." Darius was following him, but he kept shooting glances over his shoulder at Astarte, who kept sliding off her chair, then heaving herself back up to slide off again.

"When you're drunk, there's a limit to how many people you can tolerate fussing over you. Three is far too many. Believe me."

"Then I'll stay. You can go have fun."

Keiran stopped suddenly and Darius walked into his back. Was it easier just to tell him straight up that Astarte would probably rape him? _Maybe not._ Instead, he turned around and fixed him with a serious look. "Okay listen: You can stay with her tonight if that's what you really want, and I don't think it is. But don't blame me when she never talks to you _ever again_ because she's scared of what she can't remember doing in your presence in this one night. And believe me she _will_ do something she'll regret. You saw her trying to kiss me, right? After spending the whole day reminding me I have a girlfriend?"

Darius blinked. "Yes, she said she wanted to make me jealous but I don't see-"

"Just stay away from her, just as I will. Because that's what's best for all of us until ... until she realises ..." he trailed off. "Look, alcohol makes you do and say the first thing that comes to your head. For example," He looked around for inspiration. "Say I've drunk a bit more than I should have and I'm sitting here... If I decided say, that _that_ girl was hot and I'd quite like to take her to bed. I would find myself in her bed in the morning with a pounding headache and no recollection of how I got there."

"So Astarte, when she complimented us-" Darius looked perplexed.

"She was saying the first thing that came into her head. If she had thought my shirt looked gay, she would have said that instead." Keiran went to lean on the bar. "Never disregard anything a drunk girl, or guy for that matter, tells you. There's a very high chance they're not making it up."

Darius sat on the stool beside him looking rather worn out. "This is like a whole new world to me..."

"This is _my _world." Keiran smirked. "Stick with me and you'll make it through the night."

"Can I get you something?" a guy behind the bar asked, sidling over.

"Flash." Keiran nodded approvingly. "I'll have a shot of alcohol, you know, the pure stuff, if you could, an'a beer. Aaaand Darius?" Darius stared at him blankly. "And something sophisticated but strong for my sophisticated friend."

"What do you do all night?" asked Darius, watching the bartender mixing together an interesting combination of alcohols with growing apprehension.

"We-ell, you drink and watch the world go by." Keiran waved his arm vaguely, throwing back the shot and screwing his face up at the taste, "BAH. That was great, thanks" he said, pushing the empty shot glass away across the bar.

"Why do you drink it if it tastes so bad?"

"Why do you read books you don't like?"

"Ah, touché."

Darius fingered his glass nervously. The liquid inside was clear and smelt strongly of paint stripper mixed with fruit.

"Cheers?" Keiran said, holding up his beer.

Darius gave an almighty sigh and bumped it against Keiran's bottle, "to not doing anything regrettable."

Keiran laughed "seconded."

* * *

An hour (or was it two?) later they were back in the main room, sharing a couch with Kuronosu the extremely-loud-when-drunk and two of his fan girls, who were sitting on his knees, taking it in turns to feed him m&ms. Every so often Kuronosu would start laughing for no apparent reason and everyone in the immediate vicinity would grin along with him. Darius included. He had an infectious sort of laugh at the best of times, but when you're pissed, it was just rofl-worthy. _What does rofl mean again? Oh who cares._

Keiran was sprawled out, taking up half the couch, a bottle of rum and coke in one hand and a nearly empty bottle of beer in the other. Darius was sitting on his legs, hugging a bright red vodka cruiser to his chest as he stared blankly at a girl dancing a little way off; his pupils dilated. The girl kept shooting winks at him, unaware that Darius wasn't so much staring at _her_ but at the space she was occupying.

New drunks were so amusing. Keiran grinned to himself and poked Darius. He squeaked and wriggled slightly. Keiran poked him again and Darius shuffled further away. Poke – Darius whined a half-hearted protest, unable to move anymore in case he fell off the couch. Poke – he half-sobbed at him to stop. Poke poke – Darius tipped his drink on Keiran's shirt.

"Wow you're co-co-coordinated co-considering you're drunk," Keiran slurred, plucking at his new pink shirt thoughtfully. "Co-co. Now I'm sticky." He pouted.

Darius stared down at him, the bottle still upended over Keiran's chest. There was a huge pause, and then he eyes lit up with amusement; "did I do that?!"

Keiran snorted at him. "Lick it off."

"What?" Darius laughed.

"'s a waste otherwise!" he exclaimed thickly. "An' I can't get some girl ta do it, what with Saphira an'all."

"I'm not licking your chest! That's just gross!"

"Then get me 'nother drink!" Keiran waved his bottles in Darius' face.

He took a minute to focus his eyes. "But you still have drinkssss." He pouted, and Keiran felt a strange tug in his gut. "I don't. Your shirt dranked it."

"That was cute, do it again." _What am I saying, stop it!_

"_Nani?" _Darius blinked.

"Err?"

"Oh oops. Haha I said _nani_ instead of what," Darius giggled and returned to staring at the girl as if nothing had happened.

"You shouldn't stare 't her, she'll think you like her." Keiran said wisely, handing him his empty beer bottle. He took it without question.

"Maybe I do like her." Darius blinked. "Wait, what?"

"You dun like her. You're not even lookin' at her."

Darius stared at the bottle in his hand. "How did I get this?"

"I jus' gave it to you, foo'." Keiran let his head drop, so it was hanging over the arm of the chair and he was looking at the room upside-down. He was vaguely aware that it wasn't comfortable.

"Where'd your head go!?" Darius asked in horror.

There was a weight on his chest and Keiran lifted his head to see Darius leaning on him, his expression confused and worried. "'s here."

"Oh good. I thought you'd gone." Darius patted his chest affectionately and sat up, or at least tried to. What actually happened was the he slipped the other way entirely and ended up leaning against Kuronosu. "Oh hey." He grinned.

Kuronosu laughed and ruffled his hair. "Enjoying yourself?"

Darius frowned. "Um. I don't know. Yes, maybe?"

"You look like you are." Kuronosu said. Keiran was surprised his voice was so clear. Maybe he wasn't actually drunk and was just putting it on for the attention... But Kuro didn't work that way, did he? Or _did he?!_

"_Otousan _won't find out about this, will he?" Darius muttered into Kuronosu's shirt. Who was _otousan? _

Kuronosu however seemed to understand. _Ohhh they're both from Amatsu... _"I won't tell if you won't" Kuro said, fishing an m&m out of his bellybutton. His admirers had gone, presumably off on a toilet visit, or to reapply lipstick, as their original applications were now on Kuro's chest...

"Oh gosh!" Darius exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. "I'm drunk!"

Keiran laughed, which is a tricky thing to do when hanging upside-down.

"This is all your fault you- you- _horrible_ excuse for a man!" Darius threw himself on top of Keiran, beating at his chest with unsteady fists.

"You're only suppose' ta say that if you're'a girl." Keiran pointed out, but his heart wasn't in it. He was too busy trying to sort out his body, which was telling him he quite liked Darius on top of him, oh yes he did, while his mind screamed at him that he wasn't_ that_ bi and anyway, best friends were off-limits. And you have a girlfriend.

_Saphira won't mind, not if it's Darius._

No but- THAT'S NOT THE POINT HERE!!

"Excuse me?" said someone. Darius ceased his rhythmical pounding and Keiran stopped arguing with himself and they looked up to see a girl he'd never seen before staring at them somewhat hungrily.

"Hi?" Keiran said.

"Urm, sorry, but are you two gay?" She blushed.

Darius gaped at her, and she gestured at his position – he was straddling Keiran's hips, his hands now resting quietly on his stomach. And what with Keiran arched over the arm rest....

"Sorry, it's just my friends wanted to know," she pointed to a group of giggling girls in the corner.

"Oh. No. We're not. Well I'm not." Darius said. However he didn't bother moving.

Keiran shook his head, feeling rather light headed suddenly. He put it down to being upside-down. Down. Upside down. Up, down… Hm.

The girl muttered a thanks and practically ran away to rejoin her eagerly waiting friends.

"See, my shirt being undone like this does make me look gay." Darius said, pulling at his collar sulkily.

"Nah, I'd say t'was more the fact you were groping my chest."

Darius looked horrified. "I was not _groping _your chest!"

"Touchin', feelin', gropin', same difference..." Keiran struggled to sit up, nearly succeeding in spilling his drink, which was quickly stolen by Darius when he realised it wasn't empty.

"It just occurred to me," Darius said after a minute, the empty bottle rolling off across the floor, "we're both 18. So we're good to drink, right?"

"Mm." Keiran replied, feeling suddenly tired. _More booze pls_. He explored the coffee table beside him for a bottle that wasn't empty, but to no avail.

"But like. Astarte and Kiba and them. They're all still 17."

"Mm."

"So they shouldn't be drinking."

Keiran gazed blankly at him for a bit. "Meh."

Kiba had come by earlier, but had only stopped long enough to explain drunkenly that Arthur was being boring and hadn't come to the party, before he was tugged impatiently away by a very saucy-looking Yule. Lucky him. Keiran had then led Darius off on a wild goose chase to find where Arthur was sleeping and force him to come down, but they'd had no luck, only encountering several couples getting better acquainted away from prying eyes...

They hadn't seen anything more of Astarte, luckily. Maybe Chaku had got her off to bed. The only other person Keiran had recognised was Alex, who was almost as loud as Kuronosu with his bursts of laughter as he strolled past with a girl on each arm, looking very striking in a deep blue and white striped shirt, completely undone. It had, surprisingly enough, been Darius who pointed this out, asking whether that meant he was as experienced as Keiran.

"Bathroom." Keiran said briefly, sliding out from under Darius, who blinked questioningly at him.

He was starting to dread bathroom visits, he thought as he staggered out into the hall. Last time he'd come back to find Darius in the arms of a very attractive woman as the boy tried to fend her off by telling her he was much too young for her. Kuronosu had also been away getting another drink at the time, and Keiran had a feeling the only reason Darius hadn't gone missing the other times was due to the Paladin's stately, if not alcohol-tinged presence.

_Oh there's Pip_. Keiran thought as he neared the bathroom, _Yup, he's gay alright._

The Lord Knight had his boyfriend against the wall, his hands lurking dangerously close to his belt while the other guy clung to him, his tongue somewhere down Pip's throat.

"Bleerrgh," said Keiran, disappearing into the bathroom.

By the time Keiran came out (there had been a queue); the pair of them had gone.

And so had Darius.

"Darius?" Keiran asked thickly, staring at the couch they had been sitting on, which was now occupied by a comatose guy with 'NUB' written across his forehead in giant black letters. Kuronosu was also nowhere to be seen.

He felt a twinge of panic run through him. What if he'd gone outside and got lost? What if he'd been picked up by some girl?_ Well I wouldn't mind, but he will when he wakes up!_

Keiran shoved his way through the people still capable of dancing, staring into every face hopefully. He checked the bar-room, but he wasn't there; there wasn't even anyone he knew to ask. _Where are you?! _he yelled in his head as he emerged back into the noise.

"Keiran?"

Keiran spun around so quickly he just about fell over.

"Are you okay? You look lost." Of course it wasn't Darius. There was only one person with a voice that deep – Killjoy. He, thankfully, looked sober as a judge, which was how Keiran was feeling in light of Darius' disappearance.

"No sir." Keiran stammered, pulling himself more upright and clutching his shirt closed.

"Have you lost someone then?" Killjoy glanced over Keiran's shoulder into the mass of people.

"Yes sir. Darius, sir."

Killjoy smiled tiredly. "Oh. You're in luck – I just saw him heading outside before."

Keiran struggled with his emotions for a minute, "he wasn't... with anyone was he?"

"No. He was quite alone."

"Phew." Keiran sagged with relief. "Um, sorry sir, but can you show me where he went?"

"Of course." Killjoy gestured that he should follow him and weaved his way through the bodies to a different corridor Keiran hadn't even noticed before. It was barely lit, only by the moonlight shining in through the windows along one side. At the far end was a door, which Killjoy pushed open and he beckoned Keiran through.

It opened onto what appeared to be a rose garden, lit by guttering flame torches and the full moon. It looked very romantic. Others seemed to think so too; here and there were couples huddled together against the chill spring night air, on the grass or on benches.

And there... was Darius. Sitting alone on a bench and staring up at stars with a thoughtful expression.

Keiran spluttered a thank you to Killjoy, who bowed and excused himself. Resisting the urge to run and glomp Darius, he instead walked sedately up and sat down beside him, joining him at star gazing. It was a very clear night – not a cloud in sight.

"It's amazing" Darius said, not looking around, "how it's possible to tune the music out, even when it's so loud."

"It's the alcohol." Keiran explained, listening to the thump of the bass in the background.

Darius smiled, his eyes still fixed on the sky above.

It was rather nice, Keiran thought, sitting out here with Darius in the moonlight. He could see why Darius appreciated the peace and quiet so much... It was making him sleepy though, and he could just about feel the heat radiating off Darius' body... He suddenly wished Saphira was there. Keiran sighed.

"You know, you were right about alcohol," Darius said to the moon, "Tonight I've found myself thinking a lot of thoughts I didn't think I was capable of thinking, and thoughts of things I'd rather not have thought of."

Keiran stayed silent, unsure what to say, or even what he meant.

"Is it normal to feel so depressed after drinking?" Darius looked around then and Keiran met his gaze.

"Yeah, sometimes." _And that's the reason I always go home with a girl_…

Darius swallowed and blinked furiously, biting his lip. "I don't understand it, Keiran. Why do I keep thinking these things?"

Keiran shook his head mutely, begging Darius silently not to cry - if there was one thing he really couldn't handle, it was tears.

Looking away, Darius said, in an unsteady voice, "...My mother has been unwell for a long time, ever since she gave birth to her second son – my little brother, Yuki – in fact." This surprised Keiran – he hadn't known Darius had a brother, but he said nothing. "But in these last few years her health has declined terribly and she became bedridden... The priests and medics all say she doesn't have long left." Darius smiled painfully, his blue eyes on an early rosebud. "Yuki – he doesn't know her as a mother. He's hardly even seen her..."

Keiran didn't know what to say – here was the secret information he'd begged Darius to disclose so often. He felt horrified and guilty that he'd been so heartless... but how was he to have known his best friend was hiding something so painful? Darius, who kept everything hidden under a calm exterior and a smile...

"Father, of course, is extremely worried. That's where he spends his time, you know – in Amatsu, looking after her. And I-" Darius faltered. "... I've failed him. As his heir, as his son..."

Uncertainly, Keiran shuffled over, taking his friend into his arms the way he would a woman. He'd never had to comfort a guy before... It seemed, however, that it was what Darius needed, as he twisted so his head was against Keiran's chest, his hands knotted in his shirt.

"How am I supposed to tell him? How do I tell him I don't _want_ to be a great Lord? That I don't _want_ to rule over thousands of mighty warriors?" Darius laughed entirely mirthlessly. "I keep telling myself, 'it's okay. He was blessed with two sons; Yuki will be able to take his place. I can just fade into the background.'... I'm so selfish. For the peaceful life I desire, I'm willing to put my baby brother in that position of power, the target of thieves and assassins... What sort of Crusader am I? What sort of _person_ am I?"

Keiran gritted his teeth and squeezed Darius' shoulder to show he was listening. This was way out of his league... Drunk girls crying because they'd just slept with a complete stranger, he could cope with; royalty that didn't want to be royalty – how were you supposed to deal with something like that?

"I'm just a coward." Darius whispered into his chest. At any other time, this might have been a serious turn-on, but not now...

"You're not a coward." Keiran said, trying to work out what to say without sounding like a complete egg. "You're the bravest person I've ever met. And... And. And you're intelligent and handsome and a really, _really_ good swordsman, and everyone likes you."

"They only like me because they have to, because I'm the son of the guild leader."

"You don't really think that, do you?" Keiran said quietly, letting his arms drop from Darius' back, stung by his words. "You think I'm only your friend because you're the heir to the guild?"

Darius pushed himself up, his face a mask of horror, "no- I- No. I didn't mean that. I- Oh I'm sorry, Keiran! Please don't look at me like that," he begged.

Keiran turned away, directing his hurt, angry expression at the grass.

With a choking noise, Darius picked himself up and shuffled further down the bench, where he sat, twisting his hands. "I really didn't mean it like that. Honestly..."

Despite him sounding on the verge of tears, Keiran couldn't keep the anger from his voice, "then what did you mean? That me and Kiba aren't good enough for you?" There, he'd said it.

"What? No! Never. See- this is exactly why I don't want to be who I am. I don't want to be- ... to over-shadow you and the others. I don't want to be different, to be... _special_, I just want to grow up with everyone, become Paladins together, and go to town, and get drunk together." He attempted a chuckle.

Keiran found himself smiling slightly. "So, you don't think I'm no better than dirt?"

"Never." Darius said seriously, then gave a sly half-smile. "Although sometimes I'd quite like to sweep you under the rug, especially when you're dancing around our room at 11pm in your underwear."

Keiran laughed and shoved him playfully. "You know you like it, really."

Darius righted himself, chuckling, and moved closer to Keiran, for which he was thankful – it was really quite cold out here now, where they sat in silence, gazing up at the heavens for a good five minutes.

"You know," Darius murmured hesitantly, "before… when I said I was thinking a lot of things I didn't know I _could_ think..." he leaned against Keiran's shoulder, his eyes closed, "... they were all about you..."

Then he was asleep. Keiran carefully wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders to keep him warmer, before staring up at the moon, wondering just exactly what he had meant by that.


	9. Part 9: Homewards!

Longer chapter this time. ;D

BTW, if you're curious as to what my chars look like, you can see sooome of them in my DA gallery. There's a link to it on my profile page.

Thanks for reading~~

Characters belong to their respective owners, and Ragnarok etc blah belong to Gravity.

* * *

Keiran woke up bright and early the next morning feeling _great_. So great in fact that he leapt from his bed and jumped on Darius, who awoke yelling to see Keiran straddling his belly with a huge grin. His head was amazingly clear and he didn't even feel sick, which, considering he'd mixed God knows how many alcohols on an empty stomach, was a bloody miracle. HOORAH! Great excuse for waking your hung-over friend to rub it is his face! And! He was going home! He could see Saphira for the first time in a whole _day_!

"Oh my God, just how drunk were we last night?" Darius asked, eyeing Keiran's bare chest uneasily.

"What?" Keiran blinked stupidly, before he clicked. "Oh wow I never expected _you_ to say that."

"Get off, get off, you're crushing my gut." Darius waved his arms at him dismissively.

Keiran consented, throwing himself back on his own bed with a flumph as the other boy dragged himself upright.

"How's your head?"

"My head?" Darius touched it tentatively. "It feels fine?"

"_Luuucky. _First time I got drunk I spent the next day with my head under a pillow, groaning. Dad thought I'd caught some serious disease..." He laughed at the memory. "Man that was funny."

"Funny, yes." said Darius blankly, now rubbing his belly. "I'm hungry."

"Me too! Let's find where they keep the food in this place."

"Keiran, it's 7:30."

"So?"

"Don't you think it's a little rude to go scrounging around our hosts' kitchens while they're asleep?"

"It's their own fault for not providing food at the party." Keiran said, rolling onto his back and folding his arms.

"By the way, how did I get here? I vaguely remember being outside..?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah, um, Killjoy carried you up."

Darius stared. "What?"

"Yeah, you fell asleep. I was all like, 'oh shit I can't leave him out here, he's such a pansy he'll probably catch hyperthermia and die, but he's so huge I couldn't possibly get him back inside!!' and then Killjoy jumped out of a bush all like" Keiran scrunched up his face in attempt to find the perfect Killjoy tone, "'I'll take him' and that was that."

"Just two things."

"Oh?"

"First: I think you mean hy_po_thermia. Hyperthermia is when you get too hot. Second: ... you do a much better Killjoy impersonation than Shiz." Darius said, sniggering.

Keiran grinned. "Why, thank you. You missed the part where I hinted you were fat."

"No that's fair enough. I wouldn't want to drag me up two flights of stairs either."

"..."

"Nice hair by the way."

"Oh no..." Keiran whispered in horror, his hands raising but not daring to touch what could possibly be the worst bed-head the world had ever seen – he hadn't bothered to wash the product out of his hair before he went to bed. Turning to Darius, he braced himself to hear the horrid truth. "Well..? How bad is it..?"

"You look like a Caramel that's been electrocuted, drowned, run over by a Whitesmith cart _and_ then by a flock of rampaging pecopecos." Darius said with a smirk. "Minus the bulging eyes."

"That bad, huh?" Keiran let his hands fall in defeat, looking around the room for a mirror. There wasn't one. He fell back onto his pillow with a dramatic sigh.

Darius looked at him questioningly. "... What happened to raiding the Knights' pantry?"

"I can't leave this room until I've seen how awful my hair is for myself. And, as there is no _mirror _in here, I could be here a looong time." Keiran told the roof with resignation.

"There's a mirror in the bathroom, remember?"

Keiran gave him a withering look. "What part of _not leave this room _do you not understand?"

"The bathroom is less than 100 metres down the hall."

"... Someone might see me."

"The chance of anyone being up this early after a party, in the guest quarters no less, are very slim."

"I don't believe you." Keiran said stubbornly.

Darius shrugged and stood up. "Suit yourself. I, for one, am going to go have a shower. I reek of rum, and I can't for the life of me remember getting this stain." He pointed at a huge brown patch near the hem of his shirt. "But judging from the smell of it, it is also rum. Was I, by any chance, drinking rum?"

"No, Kuronosu was. Do you remember _this?_" Keiran asked, throwing his own balled-up shirt at his friend's head.

Darius unravelled it and shook it out, his face neutral as he observed the pink stain that now covered most of the front. "......"

"Well?"

Darius' expression twisted and he scrunched it back up, stuffing it unceremoniously into Keiran's bag. "No, can't say I do."

"Oh my God, you liar. You _poured_ your Cruiser on me. Like, tipped it out! On my chest! The whole thing!"

"Did I?" Darius raised his eyebrows.

"Yes you did! Don't you try pretending you forgot _that_."

"I'm terribly sorry" he said, barely containing his snigger.

"Yeah you sound it. I _liked_ this shirt." Keiran pouted, tugging it out again for closer inspection, laying it out flat on the bed.

Darius came and looked at it too. "Hmm... If you tipped another couple of bottles of raspberry vodka on it, you could have a pink shirt instead."

"The thought had occurred to me." Keiran admitted, plucking some lint off it. "But I think it would end up blotchy."

Snorting, Darius wandered off to find his uniform, wrinkling his nose at the tunic he'd been wearing the previous day.

Keiran watched him boredly, twiddling his thumbs.

"You're not really just going to sit here forever are you?" Darius asked incredulously as he headed for the exit.

"Yes."

"Good God." Darius turned back to the door.

Keiran waved. "Have fun! Bring me back a mirror, won't you?"

With a sigh Darius dropped his stuff and went to Keiran's bedside, where he stood, his hands on his hips.

"What's your issue?" Keiran said thickly, shrinking a little under the intensity of his glare (which kinda reminded him of his mother right before she yelled at him to stop making out with his girlfriends on the front lawn).

"You, are coming to the bathroom, right now." Darius said forcefully.

"No."

"Yes."

"Dun wanna." Keiran stuck out his tongue.

Darius sighed, "Then you leave me no choice."

Keiran cowered. But Darius didn't move.

"...?" Keiran questioned, risking raising his head.

He had enough time to see Darius' disturbingly evil smile before he stuffed a pillowcase over his head. Screwed up as Keiran's thought processes were, the first thing he thought was: _where the hell did he get a pillowcase from so quick?_

"Whyyyyy?" he wailed, trying to tug it off, but Darius was holding it firmly in place around his shoulders.

"You didn't want anyone to see you, right?" Darius said with a laugh as he pulled Keiran into standing position.

He flailed, half-tripping over something, and shinned himself on the edge of the bed. "Ouuuuuuuuuchiiiiiiesssssss! Dariussssss!"

"Just shush and let me lead you." Darius' voice said from behind his right shoulder.

"You'll walk me into things!" Keiran protested, and to prove his point, walked into the bedpost.

"If you stopped struggling, you'd be fine."

"I'd also be fine if you just let me stay here!" But he stopped trying to pull the case off and stood still. _You never know, this might be fun._

Darius readjusted his grip on Keiran's shoulders. "Just tell me if you can't breathe, okay?"

"I can't breathe." Keiran said automatically, letting Darius swivel him around.

"Be serious."

"How can I be serious? I have a floral pillow case on my head."

"Here hold this." Something was stuffed into his arms.

Keiran fingered it curiously. "What is it?"

"Your bag." Darius had returned to his position at his shoulder and was pushing him between the shoulder blades lightly. "Walk. Slowly."

By the time they were out the door and half-way down the hall, Keiran was getting good at understanding Darius' nudges and pokes. And yes, it was all rather fun.

Then Darius pulled the pillow case off.

Keiran blinked. Slowly it registered that he wasn't in the bathroom, but in fact standing in the middle of the hallway, and that there were two people coming towards them.

"Darius," he said, staring at the people.

"Keiran." Darius smiled.

"I hate you."

"Love you too," he said happily. "The bathroom, for your information, is four doors ahead, on your right. You might just make it if you run."

Keiran was off before he'd finished speaking, his bag clutched to his chest as he ran up the hall in a panic, counting doors and cursing Darius. He did however realise it could have been worse - he could have led him into a crowded room and left him there...

He fumbled for the doorknob (bloody knights, who has _knobs?!) _and shouldered the door open, slamming it closed behind him just as the people were almost close enough to make out their facial features. _Phew_.

"..." said Alex, who appeared to be trying to drown himself in the sink.

"..." replied Keiran.

"Nice hair" Alex muttered, his voice lacking his usual gusto.

"So people keep saying. You look like shit. Hangover?"

Alex nodded and groaned, clutching his head. "You?"

"Nope I'm just fine~" Keiran waltzed over to the mirror.

"Lucky you."

"Oh my God, he was right – I _do _look like a road-killed Caramel." Keiran whispered, staring at his reflection in horror. Alex spared him a sympathetic glance before dunking his head underwater again.

His hair was all over the show. He'd slept on his front, tilted slightly to the right as usual, and as a result his emo fringe/curtain was poking straight out to the left. However that wasn't the worst of it by far. At some point he must have rolled over, because all of the spines on one side were bent forwards, giving the impression he'd been pressed against a wall for a long time.

"I hate you, stupid hair product..." he muttered, tugging at a spike with disgust. How was he to have known it would set?

Then Darius came in, still grinning. "Good run?"

"Shut up, I'm not talking to you anymore." Keiran pouted. "I wish I'd never let you drink; it turned you mean."

"Oh good morning Alex!"

Alex waved a hand at him vaguely and returned to staring at his dripping, pale reflection in the mirror, his hands on either side on the hand basin.

"What's wrong with him?" Darius quietly asked Keiran, who was deliberating whether to try comb the crap out of his hair _before _or _during _his shower.

"He's hung-over." Keiran explained simply.

"Oh..."

"Right, shower _first,_" he decided, marching into a shower and slamming the door, causing Alex to groan loudly in protest.

***

It took a good 45 minutes (not to mention nearly his entire bottle of shampoo) for Keiran to get his hair back to a state where he could run his fingers through it without getting stuck. When finally he emerged, fully dressed in his swordsman uniform (with a clean tunic; although unfortunately he'd forgotten clean pants and so had to wear his gore smeared ones, but at least the worst of it was covered) the first thing he did was take the offending hair product from his bag and squeeze the whole lot out into the sink.

"Are you _trying _to give the Knights reason not to invite us back ever again?" Darius asked, watching Keiran poke at the stuff with a toothpick, trying to persuade it to go down the plughole. "First you use all the hot water, and now you're blocking the drains."

"They'll never know it was me." Keiran said airily. "You're just sour coz I stole your water." This was true; Darius had thrown a fit mid-way through his shower, when the water had suddenly gone cold due to Keiran leaving the hot water running while he shampooed his hair for the 13th time.

"In case you didn't notice, there's an eyewitness." Darius pointed at Alex, who was still staring at the mirror, although he had started shivering, so maybe he was going to move soon – he had water dripping from his hair down his bare back, soaking into his pants. No wonder he was cold, really.

"If you mean Alex, he'll be lucky to get out of here before lunch, and we'll be long gone by then."

At mention of his name, Alex lifted his head. "What?"

"Talkin' about you, not to you" said Keiran. "Why are you here anyway? Don't you have your own bathrooms?"

Darius face-palmed, "polite, as always."

"Err, I was in the area..." Alex said hazily.

_Ah, and so the self-drowning is explained. _"How much older than you did she turn out to be?" Darius, in his innocence, looked confused.

"She was 24. And no we didn't sleep together if that's what you were wondering." He looked like he wanted to leave it at that, but at Keiran's impatient foot-tapping, he continued; "I coma'ed out in her room, okay?"

"Sureee."

"Keiran, leave him alone" said Darius, towelling his hair.

Keiran shrugged. He'd thought Alex would return to his mirror gazing after being interrogated, but to everyone's surprise he gave a huge sigh and swung himself upright.

"I s'pose I should be a good host and show you guys around. Not that you deserve it" he added to Keiran as he pulled a shirt on.

"It wasn't me sleeping with the 24 year old."

I _didn't_ sleep with her." Alex said tiredly. "Drop it, or I'll tell my dad who wasted all the hot water."

"Alright! You win!" Keiran said despairingly, following him and Darius out the door.

After packing up the rest of their things that had somehow got scattered all over the room overnight, they wandered downstairs and into the room where the party had been. It, of course, was a mess, with a carpet of bottles, sticky patches from spilt drinks and the occasional unconscious person, including the guy who'd stolen their couch the previous night, the one with 'NUB' on his forehead, although now it said '1337 NUB'. Contradiction of terms much?

In the light he could see that there were long windows down one side (outside it looked like it was going to be another nice day), but most of the curtains were pulled still from last night; this wall presumably carried on onto the windowed corridor that led outside to the garden…

However they didn't go that way; Alex led them into the room with the bar, now empty but for a mountain of dirty glasses, and through another door, into what seemed to be the kitchen. There were a few people in here, possibly beginning the preparations for breakfast as there would be so many mouths to feed.

Clutching his head to ward off the sound of banging pots, Alex led them onwards through another door and out into the dining room.

"Oh hey!" said Arthur, standing up from where he'd been sitting with a bunch of swordies Keiran didn't recognise, looking relieved to see someone he knew.

"Morning!" Keiran replied lightly. "I didn't you see at the party last night."

Arthur looked at the ground guiltily. "Oh, no... I was tired..."

At a warning look from Darius, Keiran bit back his reply of 'suuuuuuure'. Darius really was just no fun this morning.

"Did you get a good sleep?" Darius asked earnestly.

"Oh, it wasn't too bad..."

"Were you sharing a room with Kiba?" Keiran interjected.

"Yeah... He's still sleeping."

"Ooh... So he- Darius stop glaring at me like that!" he wailed, holding his hands in front of his face defensively.

"Then stop prying in people's personal lives."

Throwing up his hands in defeat, Keiran sighed. "Okay fine, I'll behave myself til we get home, happy?"

"Somewhat."

"Um. Sorry to break up your lover's tiff..." said Alex. He, very quietly, introduced them to the five swordswomen and the swordsman who were listening to their argument with amused interest. These must be the people who didn't drink, or at least were lucky enough to get to bed at a decent time and avoid hang-overs.

"You're welcome to come with us while I show these guys around, Arthur." Alex said smiling, although it became more of a grimace as someone in the kitchen dropped what sounded like an entire shelf of pots on the floor, and was yelled at be someone else. "Oh hell, let's get out of here..."

He took them all around the Knights' residence, which was more like a large manor with turrets rather than a castle, showing them where they had their lessons, where they slept, their common rooms ("you have common rooms?! NO FAIR"), before leading them outside. They had less outdoor space than the Paladins, but then again they weren't half as bulky; but they had paddocks for their pecos joined right onto the stables, which Keiran thought was nicer... The whole thing was positioned to the north of Izlude town. Izlude, Alex told them, was like a mini Prontera, with a cobbled town centre, large marketplace and stone buildings built out from the centre. With more wood, which apparently had something to do with them being on a direct trade route from the forest town Payon.......

By the end of the tour, they were all famished and so headed back eagerly for breakfast, Arthur looking like he was about to fall asleep as he walked.

Alex groaned as they entered the dining room; it was very loud – all the people who hadn't attended the party (i.e. the older people) were talking enthusiastically amongst themselves as they ate. _Knights, _Keiran decided as they took a seat, _are very loud people. _Just like Paladins. _No wonder we get on so well..._

Making sure they were settled, Alex grabbed a bowl of cereal and excused himself to find somewhere less painful to eat with a promise he'd come say bye later. Keiran was and wasn't looking forward to heading back to Prontera... As much as he wanted to see Saphira again and walk around the _stone_ buildings, he had grown rather fond of Alex and his companions, and would be sad to leave them behind, especially as he would have no idea when they'd next see each other. He was also regretting not saying a proper farewell to the rogue Eilk... Morroc was a long way from Prontera, and warping cost money – would she really come visit them as she'd promised?

Clasping his hands in front of him, he muttered a prayer of thanks for the food and for keeping everyone from too much harm the previous day (and evening), joined by Arthur and Darius. He noticed, as he raised his head, that a few people were staring at them like they were insane; it was sometimes easy, living fulltime in the presence of so many devout people, to forget that the rest of the world thought of God as a mere afterthought, or not at all.

When the younger members of the crusaders guild, of which their were more than of the knights as they'd taken full advantage of the knights hospitality, a.k.a drunk all their alcohol, finally emerged for breakfast in various states of dress or wellbeing, Keiran and his friends had long since finished eating and were playing cards with a few knights. Or rather Keiran and Blank were playing cards, while the others watched and Darius read. Blank had been lucky with his drinking too; he'd informed them with a sneer that he'd only had a sore gut when he'd woken up despite _apparently _drinking several bottles of pure alcohol.

What was bugging Keiran was the fact that he was looking extremely smug and kept shooting strange glances at Match, who had a full blown hangover and a 'sore back amongst other things', although when he'd explained this he'd glared at Blank, who'd smirked back.

Keiran could put two and two together, but in this case, he wasn't sure he wanted to. But it _would_ explain Blank's weird reaction when Keiran had told him he could have Hikari if he wanted, _and_ why both Hikari and Darius seemed to think they knew something about the boy that he didn't. If he were _gay..._ Keiran shuddered. He didn't have anything against gays; hell, he wasn't sure he wasn't more than a little gay himself, he'd certainly delved in that department once or twice, although always returning to his girls; it's just ... _weird _to find out a person you thought you knew wasn't the person you thought they were... Especially when you'd been taking a piss next to them for the last couple of months.

Natalie and Yule were also present. Yule looked her usual beautiful self, despite her hang-over, and Natalie looking fresh as a daisy, as she too had chosen to sleep rather than stay up drinking all night.

"Keiran..?"

Keiran looked around from his hand to see Astarte hovering uncertainly at his shoulder with Chaku beside her wearing an anxious smile. "Goooood morning Star, Chaku~"

"Um, can I talk to you a second, er, after you've finished your game?" Astarte said. Keiran noticed she was fiddling with her sleeves – she was nervous?

He looked back to the game – it was his turn, glanced at his cards and threw them on the table. "Fold."

"Are you sure?" Astarte stared.

"Yeah. I was losing anyway." Keiran grinned at her. "What did you want to say?"

She fidgeted and looked away, "can we go somewhere um, quieter?"

"Sure, lead on," he said. He had a feeling he knew what she wanted to talk about, but it was always nicer to listen.

Astarte led him to a secluded corner of the hall where she stood, twisting her hands. Keiran perched on the edge of a table.

"Um" she said to the chair "about last night... I'm really sorry I tried to kiss you."

Keiran smiled. "No apology needed. I wouldn't have minded – I was more thinking of what Saphira would do to me when she found out."

"I thought you'd say that." Astarte said with a little smile, "I wanted to say thank you, too... for stopping me from doing anything stupid."

"Any time, any time."

"You don't think Darius..." She trailed off.

"Caught on? No. He _was_ very concerned about you though."

"He was?" Astarte looked cheered at the thought.

"Yes indeed. He didn't want to leave you."

Astarte grinned. "Sweet."

"He's a sweet guy, it's half the problem," Keiran said with a dramatic sigh. "Oooh there's Kiba. Excuse me I have to go find out what happened with him and Yule."

"Yule? Kiba and _Yule_?" Astarte snorted in disbelief as she followed him back to the table.

"Well, from the way she was tugging at his shirt, I doubt she wanted to show him her stamp collection."

Astarte didn't seem to have anything to say to that and stayed quiet as Keiran marched straight up to Kiba and seized him by the shoulders before he'd even got fully into the room.

"Well!?" he exclaimed.

"Well what?" Kiba blinked. He looked worse than Alex, possibly because he had a softer face usually, and so the frown lines and dark circles under his eyes looked rather alien.

"Did you do it?"

"What?"

"With Yule!" He shot her a glance over his shoulder; she was facing the opposite direction.

"Oh..."

"Well!?" Keiran shook him. It was a mean thing to do really, but hey.

"No," said Kiba moodily.

"What happened? She was all over you!"

"I told her I wouldn't sleep with her when she was drunk."

Keiran gaped. "Are you _insane?! _She could be _the _hottest woman you'll ever meet and _you turned her down_ because of _morals_?!"

"Shut up..." Kiba sighed, trying to push past him

"You do know- OW OW OW!!!" Keiran yelped as he was seized by the ear from behind.

"I thought you promised to behave yourself?" said Darius flatly.

Keiran whimpered, letting go of Kiba who slipped past without a backwards glance.

"By the way, Kiba, you did the right thing." Darius said with a smile to Kiba's back, giving Keiran's ear a sharp twist.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Keiran yelped.

Alex strolled up behind them, looking a little less ill with some food inside him. "Oh lover _and _mother?"

Darius smiled and let go of Keiran, who sulked, rubbing some life back into the smarting ear. "Feeling better?"

"A little," Alex nodded. "At least when I talk now it doesn't feel like I'm being hit 'round the head with a bastard sword."

Keiran would have liked to ask how he knew what being hit around the head with a bastard sword felt like, but he figured he shouldn't push Darius any further. At least until they got home anyway. And so he followed Darius and Alex back to their group silently, feeling unloved.

"Crusaders!" a Paladin yelled from the doorway – everyone looked around at him, "Sir Kuronosu has requested that we all gather, well, _here _in five minutes to say farewell to the Knights. So don't go anywhere."

***

Ten minutes later, everyone was crammed into the hall like sardines in a can – all of the Crusader's guild were in their full uniforms now, taking up twice as much room as the knights, who were complaining loudly about it to each other, their armour scraping awfully against their neighbours'. Keiran spared a little pity for those with hangovers.

"Attention please! I know it's very crowded, but you can deal with it for a few minutes," Philip yelled, waiting for a lower level of noise he could actually hear himself over. "Thank you very much. To our dear guests I'd like to say thank you for coming and I hope you all had a magnificent time at the party. And no, you won't be billed for consuming our entire alcohol supply." There was a collective roar of laughter and a few boorish cheers and whistles. "And to Sir Kuronosu for his patience in dealing with the paperwork and for his efforts with the organisation of what turned out to be the most fun I have had since the Maya Purple got into Geffen; and of course, for inviting us along! A warm thank you is in order, I think... Wouldn't you say, Knights?" He beamed around at his guild members as they cheered and stomped and whistled their appreciation. Keiran had been lucky enough to keep his seat, but was unlucky in that he was pinned between two extremely enthusiastic female Lord Knights who were threatening to knock him out cold as they jumped up and down clapping and shrieking their gratitude.

Kuronosu looked a little flustered at the attention as he held up his hand for quiet. "Thank you very much. However, as I keep saying, it wasn't my effort alone. Credit goes also to my good friends and comrades, Stephen, Domino-" (he rattled off a long list of names, gesturing to them in the crowd as he named them) "and of course to Lord Ishikawa, our mighty leader, who took a lot of time out of his busy schedule to assist us even though he regrettably couldn't attend." After the applause for Kuro's friends and for their guild master died away, Kuronosu smiled widely and raised his arms. "And now, Crusaders, I think our benevolent hosts have deserved a thank you; for coming DBing with us and putting us up for the night and, for their wonderful party - I'm sure everyone enjoyed their hospitality as much as I did." He winked, and a ripple of laughter went around the crowd, in which Keiran joined in, remembering Kuronosu and his m&m-bearing fan girls. "Thank you for having us." Kuronosu swept into a deep bow encompassing Philip and his guild in the gesture, as the Crusaders clapped and yelled, making as much if not more noise than the Knights' guild had. Keiran had to duck to clap, as the Paladin behind him kept accidentally knocking him with his armoured elbow.

"Unfortunately, it is time to say farewell!" Kuronosu announced. "Do not fret overly, for we will organise another event with our knight friends for later in the year, and they can come drink all our alcohol instead. But until then! Thank you, and _sayonara. _Crusaders, you have an hour to say your goodbyes, saddle up and be out by the gates! Don't be late!"

Quickly, Keiran stood and slipped between two Crusaders to get to the table, which he scrambled underneath - he had no desire to be trampled by the departing tanks. A good move on his part as the table was made of heavy oak and wasn't to be moved, providing Keiran with his very own safety wall against the knights and crusaders who crashed into each other with enough force to turn a swordsman into a 99% fat free swordie sandwich if one were to be caught between them as they said their goodbyes.

"Oh, you're a smart one," said Alex with a wide smile, joining him under the table with Darius and Arthur in tow. It would appear his headache had subsided somewhat.

"I know~" Keiran said airily, shuffling over to allow a few knight swordies entry.

Darius snorted. "Don't inflate his head too much."

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning or something?" Keiran asked him with a frown which he twisted into a pout. "Coz you're being really mean to me."

"No, I didn't wake up, remember? _You woke me up."_

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Sulkily, Keiran shuffled back the other way – another bunch of knight swordsmen had just appeared; now he was pressed right up against Arthur, who blinked at him questioningly.

"Hel-_lo_." he said with a wink, "It's rather cosy under here, isn't it?"

"Cosy isn't the word I would have used." Arthur moved his arm to avoid elbowing the swordswoman who was crammed against his other side.

They spent a good 15 minutes squished up together under the table before anyone deemed it safe to emerge, and even then it was hesitantly that Keiran poked his head out from under the table to look both ways before clambering out and looking around. The room was fairly empty now, with only the swordies and a biggish group of 2nd Classes down the far end.

"Okay, we're good." He gave the thumbs up to the rest of the sheltering peoples.

Alex emerged first. "There's no one here. We could have come out ages ago," he said with a grin.

"If you wanted to shove through those Paladins that were there until a minute ago, then sure, why not?"

For their last 45 minutes in Izlude they wandered around the grounds with the knight swordsmen (of which there were 14), chatting and comparing drops from the DB event. In that time, Bahaa managed to successfully insult the four crusader swordswomen, apparently without realising he had done so, and call Darius Keiran's girlfriend at least six times. It was getting a little tedious, even with Alex calling him a variety of amusing names each time.

And finally, it was time to go home – the Paladins and Crusaders had all mounted up; the people who had been assigned swordie carrying duty this time hovering around the swordsmen waiting for Kuronosu to come take charge.

With a smile, Keiran turned to Alex, who had accompanied them out. "Well."

Alex grinned back. "Well indeed."

"I guess... I'll see you 'round?" Keiran said, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, I guess you will." Alex took it and they shook, then suddenly tugged Keiran forward and gave him a huge one armed hug, beating him on the back affectionately.

Keiran returned the gesture, feeling rather small, a little sad, and somehow pleased, and Alex released him, turning to say bye to Darius the same way.

"It's been great hanging with you," Keiran said. "Try bully your dad into letting you come visit us soon, kay?"

Laughing, Alex gave him a clap on the shoulder, "I'll see what I can do."

"Keiran, are you ready to go?" Hikari asked, riding up beside him on Sei.

"Yeah sure."

From in front of Hikari, Keiran grinned down at Alex, who stuffed his hands in his pockets and squinted up at him. "Seeya~"

"Farewell, a safe journey to you all." Alex said formally, saluting as Kuronosu bellowed the order to move out, Darius once again in front of him.

"May God be with you, always." Keiran replied, just as formally.

Hikari turned Sei and joined the side of the procession, riding out with many yells following them from those knights who'd come to see them off. "You really like that guy now, huh?" he asked with a smile, possibly remembering the way Keiran had reacted when they first met. Alex was watching them go with a grin.

Keiran realised his own smile had slipped from his face. "Yeah... Yeah I guess I do." Somehow, even though they'd only known each other a day, it felt like he was leaving one of his best friends behind...

"Don't worry, you'll see them again." Hikari reassured him with a pat on the shoulder. "We're always in contact with the Knights' guild. I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up next week demanding we throw a party for them."

Keiran grinned in reply.

"Did you have a good time? These last couple of days, I mean."

"Oh yeah. It's been great!" Keiran said earnestly. "DBing was _awesome." _

Hikari laughed lightly, "did you get much stuff? I noticed Pip was hoarding it..."

"Nah, he let us help ourselves, but I'd already got a rare card off a Paladin called Xin so I didn't take much."

"Xin? The one you saved from Eremes?" Hikari asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Keiran told him what Xin had said and done, and pulled the card out to show Hikari.

"Garm baby..." Hikari murmured, his eyes glinting hungrily as he turned it over in his hand. He handed it back quickly, as if scared it would burn him if he held it too long. "Very nice. You're very lucky."

Keiran would have explained that he didn't want it, but that look in Hikari's eyes was a little too greedy for his liking; he might find himself minus one garm baby card if he said anything. Instead he tucked the card safely back into his pocket.

"How did everyone else find the event? Were there many injuries?" he asked after a minute.

Hikari hmm'ed thoughtfully. "No _major _permanentinjuries, luckily. The worst was a Knight who lost a couple of fingers on his right hand when he got too close to the Whitesmith – but he was left-handed, so he'll get over it. Everything else we could heal up. So! All in all, a big success, really."

"Oh nice." Keiran said happily. "I just remembered, Juris said something about someone maybe finding an ice pick – what is that?"

"It's a type of dagger used in PvP. They're worth a _lot_. It turned out the guy was making it up, since Kuronosu picked up the thing himself."

Keiran stared, "he did?"

"Yup. I was there."

"How do they decide who gets it? I mean- _heaps _of people helped killed the assassin..."

"They'll sell it and split the money between the guilds. It's much fairer than the 'whoever finds it, gets it' system that most guilds use." Hikari explained, nudging Sei past a rather slow, tired-looking peco.

"I'd say..."

The minutes ticked by slowly, marked only by the slowly changing scenery. The grass was growing more thickly here, and in the distance he could see the wonderful stone walls that protected Prontera.

"Did you go to the party last night, Sir?" Keiran asked, realising he hadn't seen the Paladin at all during the evening.

"Yeah, I did. Didn't you see me?" Hikari said, "oh, actually, you probably didn't. I walked past you at about the same time Darius poured his drink on you."

Keiran groaned, "is everyone going to know about that?"

"Well it _was_ a party. Nothing you did will stay secret if someone can remember what happened." He laughed. "You'll never be able to get the stain out... It's a shame, really; it was a nice shirt."

"You liked it?" Keiran asked in surprise. "Darius tried telling me it looked gay."

"No, it looked very good on you. You reminded me of the guys in the rock bands back in Amatsu."

_He didn't say I _didn't _look gay... _"Are you from Amatsu then, Sir?"

"Sure am." Hikari puffed out his chest proudly.

"Is it just me, or are there a lot of crusaders from there?"

Hikari looked thoughtful for a minute before saying, "there are, yes. Although most of them aren't ... for lack of a nicer, less racist way of putting it, _pure_ Amatsans. A lot of the families that had strong ties to the crusader's guild moved to Amatsu from Prontera back when Lord Ishikawa's family took power. Their children married Amatsu's people, and their children were given Amatsu names..."

He paused then, and Keiran was just about to say something when he continued; "Which is why there are a lot of people with Amatsan names who look like Pronterans. Or... There are people who have never so much as seen Amatsu that have names from there because their parents liked the sound of them. And then there're those in between, such as Sir Kuronosu - his parents are from Prontera, but moved to Amatsu before he was born, and chose to name their son is the manner of the locals."

"If you don't mind me asking... what about you?" Keiran asked, feeling nosy.

"Me?" Hikari blinked down at him, "I'm Amatsu blood, through and through."

_Oops_, Keiran thought, Hikari sounded kinda pissed. _How'm_ _I supposed to know where people are from just by looking at them? Sure his slanty eyes put him down as being from one of the oriental towns; Louyang, Gonryun, Amatsu...But still!_

"Sorry, I'm rubbish at these things," he said apologetically. "No offence meant."

"... None taken." Hikari shot him a quick smile before staring off at the walls of Prontera, coming steadily closer with every step.

"... What about Darius?"

"What about him?"

_At least he doesn't sound mad now..._ "Well, his family is really Amatsan, isn't it?"

"Yes; about as pure as you could hope to find."

"So how come he has a name from... Morroc? Veins?" Keiran frowned, where was that sort of name from anyway? "Whatever. Not-Amatsu."

"Hm, I guess he was just an opposite case; his mother liked the sound of a name that wasn't from Amatsu, and there you go."

"His brother has an Amatsan name..." Keiran said, more to himself than anything else.

"Yes, _Yuki. _Snow, a common name, but a good one." Hikari nodded as if the boy's name pleased him.

"What does your name mean, Sir?"

"Light."

Keiran considered this. "It suits you."

Hikari smiled vaguely, still gazing off into the distance.

"You don't think so?"

"Oh I don't mind it... It could be worse."

"A lot worse." Keiran agreed. "Eilk said she met a guy called The Bank."

"_The _Bank?" Hikari laughed. "Was he a merchant, by any chance?"

"Apparently so."

"Well, when you put it that way, _Hikari _is just great."

As Hikari returned to watching Prontera's walls getting bigger with a smile on his face, Keiran fell silent, thinking about _stuff_ while analysing just how Hikari's armour was put together, or at least how the bits he could see were put together. The bright silver plates guarding his legs were like thick scales and, while sitting on his peco, they formed a near-perfect defence from all directions. His steel gauntlets provided just as good a resistance; he was practically wearing a metal pipe on each wrist, although they were a lot more attractive than a pipe with their light scaling and gold gilding over a white-silver.

Each plate was marked with scratches and the edges chipped and dented. Was being a Paladin so tough that even within a couple of years your armour could get so munted? Surely Hikari was only in his early 20's; he couldn't have been a Paladin for more than two or three years... Unless you could get Paladin armour ready-dented? Like pre-faded and pre-ripped jeans?

They were nearly at Prontera now; the guards at the gates were coming into focus, and the pecopecos were quickening their pace, eager to be home.

"Hikari?" Keiran asked, struck by a sudden idea.

"Yes?"

"Can you drop me off in town on the way through?"

Hikari blinked. "... I suppose? Why?"

"Urm. I want to get something..." Keiran said vaguely. "For my girlfriend."

"Oh." Hikari looked thoughtful. "We-ell... Kuro's not going to want people wandering off straight away..."

"Darn right I don't." Kuronosu said, riding up beside them. "There's nothing worse than not being able to find people when you're unpacking. So, who's going where?"

"Me, Sir. Um. I wanted to go into town to get my girlfriend some flowers... She couldn't come DBing... And I thought that would be... nice," he trailed off lamely.

Darius raised an eyebrow at him, but was smiling.

After gazing at him consideringly for a minute, Kuronosu shrugged. "I suppose I can accept that." He looked at Hikari, "could you take him around by the west gate? You can just drop off the back of the group. There's a flower vender to your left just as you come through the gates that sells some really nice roses for a decent price..."

"Thank you very much, Sir!" Keiran said, grateful to the core.

Kuronosu smiled generously at him. "Not a problem." He gave Labyrinth a little tug on the reins to stop him walking too far ahead. "Just don't keep Hikari away too long; I'll probably need him for _something_."

He went to turn his peco away, but paused; Darius was twisted in the saddle, saying something.

"... Oh right." Kuro nodded and turned to Keiran again. "Darius has just reminded me that you wished to talk to me about a... donation to the guild..?"

"Oh, yes Sir." _Darius_ _doesn't seem to think I'm capable of organising my own meetings, apparently. Ye of little faith._

"Feel free to come and talk to me in my office any time after 6. Or straight after dinner would be good."

"Yes Sir." Keiran nodded. "After dinner then, Sir?"

"Just spiffy."

With a last grin, Kuronosu charged off to the front of the mob, yelling orders to form a line that could actually fit through the gates without taking out the guards and half the city in the process. _Poor Darius, he must be going deaf from all his shouting._

Hikari untangled his reins from where they were caught around his knee guard and gave Sei an aid to slow down, which Keiran finally thought he might have worked out; it seemed that he would dig his weight into the saddle and lean back slightly. But he might have been imagining it. Keiran doubted very much it would work if he tried it.

Sei didn't want to slow down even a little, and put up a fight, throwing his head high into the air and fighting against the bridle, even though Hikari wasn't holding the reins tightly at all; leaping forwards, then slamming on the brakes with loud honks, snapping at the pecos who passed him, their riders looking amused at the peco's apparently unprovoked behaviour.

"You might want to hold on." Hikari said calmly, redoubling his grip around Keiran's waist with his free arm; Keiran clung tighter to his saddle strap with his already aching hands.

Hikari spun Sei around, the peco staggering with his own misplaced momentum, and gave him a nudge with his heels. The peco grunted and lashed out with his talons, just missing a Crusader's peco as she rode past. He then started walking backwards, very quickly.

"Now Sei, don't be thick..." muttered Hikari, "If you'll get out of the group we can go for another run."

Sei honked angrily and tried to spin to face the right direction, but whenever he was pointing towards Prontera, Hikari would swing him straight back the way he'd come from, making him do an extra circle on top of the half. Keiran was getting dizzy, but Hikari didn't seem to be; his face was set, staring determinedly back towards Izlude as his peco twisted and twirled beneath him. His body, however, remained completely relaxed and moved fluidly with the peco; while Keiran jerked around, barely hanging on as he cried silent prayers in his head. He knew he should relax and that he probably wasn't helping the peco calm down by being so stiff and tense, but he just couldn't will himself to do it, his thoughts set instead on holding onto that strap and not dying.

The last, slowest members of the Crusader's guild passed them, asking anxiously if everything was alright.

"We're okay, don't worry." Hikari reassured them with a smile, spinning Sei around in circles.

_This is _okay? Keiran thought in a panic; the peco was now shrieking his head off and rearing, flapping his stumpy wings in frustration as the group moved away from him, leaving him behind. Abandoned!

"Shhh, it's okay. We're okay." Hikari muttered, reaching around Keiran to stroke his peco's glossy neck as it stared after the group in longing, no longer bouncing, but tensed and ready to run.

Gently, he pulled the peco's head around; Sei had no choice but to drop it, keeping his body still as he bent his neck to nuzzle at Hikari's boot. With the peco's head level with his knee, Keiran watched as the insane look slowly disappeared from the bird's eye, to be replaced by a look of trust as he peered up at his master. Master? More like companion, flock-mate... _Friend_. It was as if he'd suddenly remembered he wasn't alone; that another of his flock was still here with him. It tugged at Keiran's heart to think about it that way, that these two could share such a strong bond despite them a completely different species...

Releasing Sei's head with another pat on his neck, Hikari straightened up and turned the now quite placid pecopeco back towards Prontera.

"And that is why I use natural methods of training," the Paladin said with a relieved sigh.

Sensing the worst of the danger was over; Keiran convinced his fingers to relinquish their hold somewhat on the bit off leather he had so recklessly trusted to keep him on the bird's back. "..."

"I'd like to see people who don't ride naturally get their pecos out of a mob that size without being thrown and without using violence." he muttered with a scowl, nudging Sei into a quick jog.

Keiran had a feeling it was possible, but as Hikari seemed very adamant that it wasn't; he kept quiet, wishing he could be a Crusader quickly so he could have a bird of his own to be friends with... To learn all the habits of... To know exactly how it would react in any situation and be able to remain, like Hikari, infuriatingly calm...

True to his promise, Hikari let Sei run along the entire of the south and west walls of Prontera at whatever speed he wanted, which turned out to be a flat-out sprint.

And so it was with shaking legs that Keiran hobbled into the flower shop Kuronosu had recommended and paid 20,000 zeny for a bunch of five red roses and a lot of green stuff, wrapped in white paper with a green ribbon around it - Saphira's favourite colour was green, if it were possible, he'd have got green flowers too, but the smiling shop keeper had insisted that the only things that grew green flowers were weeds and they all smelled _terrible_.

"Impressive," Hikari commented as Keiran left the shop, the bundle carefully in his arms, "What's the occasion?"

"There isn't one, really." Keiran replied, shuffling into position so Hikari could lift him back onto the peco, the flowers held carefully in front of him so they didn't get crushed. "I just think I should bring her back something..."

"Fair enough, I guess" he said, turning Sei for home.

It was about 2pm, and town was crowded. There were people rushing around, heading from one shop to another, avoiding the eyes of the novices who pleaded for items or zeny on the street sides like beggars. In truth these children had no real need of the money, Keiran knew – he had been one of them once, but it never hurt to have a few extra 100k to spend on berserk potions, which if you drunk under the age of 20, gave you the immediate effects of being drunk (with the added risk of a possible heart attack). Vending had been banned in the town centre, but this didn't stop the money-hungry merchants; instead of setting up temporary shops as they would in other towns, they stood around waving their wares and yelling prices in attempt to draw in the afternoon pvp goers before they were shooed away by an angry city guard. The cafes and restaurants were filled with people having late lunches. Priests wafted around, casting their buffs on the people they thought were good-looking, or that they knew, completely ignoring those who were following them, begging for _agi _or_ bless plsss._

They passed it all by, turning left at the centre and heading north at a steady pace up the main street. Hikari pulled Sei to a halt mid-way and bowed deeply to a pair of what Keiran thought were cape-less unmounted Paladins. They nodded in reply and strode past, making their stately way west.

"... What are they?" Keiran asked curiously, watching their shielded backs disappear around a corner.

"They're Royal Guards." Hikari explained, nudging Sei forwards again.

"Royal? As in the King's guards?"

"Exactly."

Keiran stared after them in wonder. "Why are they here?"

"Even they need time off. Although I'll admit they don't usually wear their uniforms when they go to town..." Hikari considered this thoughtfully. After a moment he said, on a new track, "... Paladins can become Royal Guards if they train _extremely_ hard; it takes years and years. Most people give up after just a couple..."

"How long does it take?"

"Not including your previous training until you become a Paladin; at least 15 years."

"_15?!" _Keiran exclaimed. "At _least_?!"

"Like I said, a tough job." Hikari smiled. "If I remember rightly, the youngest Royal Guard was 32... And he was killed about a year after he was accepted as a Guard."

Keiran winced. "What happened to him?"

"He took an arrow that was intended for our King. Straight through the eye..." he sighed. "Poor guy."

_Not even inch thick armour can protect you from bad luck... _Keiran thought soberly, wondering if the man had died happy in the knowledge that his life had saved his King...

Soon they were back in the castle grounds, where the rest of the guild was unloading their pecos and greeting the people that had stayed behind with much yelling as they came out to welcome them home.

With a grin, Hikari swung Keiran and his roses to the ground. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you around."

Keiran squinted up at him as he was passed his bag and shield, which he'd actually managed to remember not the leave behind this time; he was looking bright and cheerful as he gazed around the courtyard. "Yeah. Thank you for the lifts, Sir."

"Not a problem." said Hikari lightly. "Now if you'll excuse me... Ah, good luck with your girlfriend." He jerked his head over Keiran's shoulder as he turned Sei.

Keiran turned around; Saphira was sitting on a step by the castle entrance, looking up at the sky with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh!" Keiran said happily, waving to Hikari, "thank you. Seeyou later!"

As he slung he pack onto his back and carefully hid the flowers behind his shield, he could hear the Paladin chuckling when he rode away.

Quietly, Keiran walked towards her, checking every couple of steps that the flowers were still concealed. She looked up as he approached, and she smiled; his stomach doing its usual dance.

Resisting the urge to tackle her, Keiran knelt before her, trying to keep his face serious, attracting more than a few curious looks from passers-by. He didn't see her reaction, as he was looking at the ground somewhere by her feet.

"My Lady," he said, swinging his shield aside gracefully and presenting the roses.

"Oh, Keiran!" Saphira gasped, taking the bouquet from him gently.

He looked up to see that she was blushing, lightly fingering one of the rose's petals as she gazed at them with a curious expression on her face.

"Do you not like them?" he asked cautiously. Were roses the wrong choice?

Saphira flicked her gaze to him. "Oh, I love them! Thank you very much!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms, flowers and all, around his neck.

Keiran smiled into her hair, holding her tightly to his chest. "I'm glad," he said seriously before continuing in a light tone, "I was a bit worried you'd be mad coz the flowers weren't green too." Pushing herself away lightly, she laughed. "Don't be stupid, you can't get green flowers!"

"Actually you can." Keiran said breezily, tugging her back to him as he stood up. "Only they're all weeds and smell awful."

"Since when have you known your flowers?" she asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Since the lady at the flower shop told me I was a prat for wanting to give you weeds."

"I don't think you're a prat. It shows that you actually know what your girlfriend's favourite colour is, which is more than most boys manage." She kissed him softly. "Really, I love them. But... just one question."

"Yes?"

"Why?"

"Why?" Keiran smiled down at her curious face. "Because I love you. Do I need more reason than that?"

Saphira blinked, then smiled tenderly. "No... No you don't." She pulled his face down to her level and kissed him again, softly at first, then firmer, running her tongue over his lips. Keiran felt the first stirrings of lust building, and stuffed them back down quickly, returning her kiss gently, ignoring the cheeky comments from the guild members as they went to and fro.

"I missed you," she said breathlessly when they broke apart. "You have to tell me all about your trip. Were the knights nice? What did the bloody branches summon?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Keiran said warningly, holding a finger to her lips. "One question at a time and only after we go somewhere where we can talk without an audience, and after you've told me..." _What? Your news? The good news? What if it's bad news, what if her mother's baby was stillborn? _

"About my mother?" Saphira said quietly, reading his expression easily.

Keiran nodded.

She paused for a minute, her face flat, before saying, "she's okay. The baby is too." Then she smiled as Keiran's face lit up with relief.

"Is it a boy? A girl?" he asked excitedly.

"Na-ah!" she giggled. "Somewhere quiet first, remember?"

"Oh right!" Keiran looked around. "Um."

"I know a place, come on," Saphira said, taking his hand and half pulling him through a door into the corridor that ran along the inside of the castle wall.

"Where are we going?" Keiran hazarded, realising with a start he hadn't told Darius or anyone he was going.

"You'll see~"

They went straight past all the doors Keiran knew and continued down the dark hall for a while before Saphira finally pulled up in front of a door leading to the right.

"We're leaving the castle?" he asked curiously.

"Not quite." Saphira grinned and pushed the door open, dragging Keiran through after her.

"Oh wow." Keiran said dazedly. He was standing in an orchard, an orchard within the castle walls. It was, quite simply and without beating around the bush, beautiful – all of the trees' flowers were in full bloom; a bright network of pinks, reds, oranges and whites, and it was completely silent but for the rustling of the branches in the breeze, sending petals spiralling down to the grass, and the chattering of small birds.

"I found it this morning – I got lost and ended up here." Saphira explained, tugging at his hand to get him to follow her. "A Crusader was here before and she told me one of Lord Ishikawa's predecessors had it planted because he missed the _sakura_ trees of Amatsu in spring."

"_Sakura..?"_

"Cherry blossoms." She pointed to one of the trees. Keiran couldn't tell it apart from the others other than by the colour of the flowers, which were pink.

Saphira led him to a woven straw mat under a white-flowered tree and sat down. He followed suit, dumping his gear beside him and leaning back against the tree as Saphira sniffed at her bouquet, watching him through half-lidded eyes.

"So, your trip?" she said, laying the flowers down carefully and wriggling close to Keiran to play with his fingers, which she often did - she said she liked his hands.

"No, your new baby brother or sister first, remember?" Keiran scolded.

"Oh. Oh okay..."

"Well?"

"He was born at 1 this morning." Saphira said with a dreamy look on her face. "My little baby brother; I'm not the youngest anymore."

"Is he cute?"

"Of course not," she said sharply.

Keiran stared.

"He's a new-born. All red and blergh."

"...Blergh..." Keiran repeated weakly. _Harsh..._ "Does he have a name...?"

"Josiah. After my mother's father."

"Nice. ... And your mother? Did it all go okay?"

"Yep!" Saphira said with a grin. "She said it went smoother with him than it did with me... But she's told dad she's not having any more, which is fair enough, really"

Keiran nodded his agreement. Three kids, in his opinion, was just right. He personally loved kids, a feeling which he suspected would only increase with age, but he wanted to make sure he could support them properly before he had any of his own, so he was always very careful... 18 was just far too young to be a father, or a mother; although the age couples were choosing to get married and have kids was decreasing... A worrying thought.

"Any more questions?" Saphira asked.

Keiran searched his head for more 'girlfriends mum's just had a baby questions', but couldn't find any. "No? ... I'll get back to you if I think of anything else."

Saphira giggled and seized his other hand, folding his fingers into a fist before stretching them out flat again. "So, tell me about your trip."

"What do you want to know first?" he asked, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and twisting a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"Um... um. The knights! Were there many of them? Were they nice?" Her eyes were wide with curiosity.

"One question at a time~" Keiran trilled, tugging lightly at the hair until she swatted him away.

"Alright then! How many?"

"There were around 50 of them, 50 of us."

"100 in total."

"Bravo, you can add!" Keiran clapped against her shoulder teasingly, earning himself a finger bent back.

"And were they nice?"

"They seemed to be. There was a Lord Knight that we had to party with, Juris, who was just scary, but Astarte, I'm sure, will tell you all about him later." He told her about Alex and Bahaa, and she laughed hysterically when he told her how adamant Bahaa had been that Darius was a girl.

"Poor Darius... And and!" she said when she's calmed down. "The bloody branches?"

"They were the Evil Snake Lord, and Eremes Guile. I didn't see much of the snake, but Eremes, wow." With as much accuracy and detail as he could muster, he retold the whole of the battle with the Assassin Cross, leaving out the part where he'd frozen up...

"Which reminds me; I have a meeting with Kuro at 6. Don't let me forget." Keiran said as Saphira read the Garm Baby card in amazement.

"I will~" Saphira said, handing the card back. "Some of the crusaders were saying something about a party?"

"Oh yeah. It was great; I wish you'd been there! Darius got trashed!"

"Darius did?" She laughed loudly, "I can't imagine that."

"He was ... well..." Keiran waved a hand vaguely. "You know."

"... Nope."

"... cute" he muttered.

"Huh?" she frowned, but there was a smile playing around her mouth.

"Darius. He was... cute." Keiran said, very reluctantly.

Smirking, Saphira cupped her hand around her ear. "Did I just hear that correctly? Did you just say Darius was _cute?"_

"Maybe- Anyway! What happened to leaving that topic alone?"

"Oh is that promise still holding out?"

"_Yes_."

"Awww..." She pouted, tugging at Keiran's fingers delicately. "And you? Did you behave yourself while I wasn't there to watch over your every move?"

"I kept myself to myself, if that's what you mean. Do you really have so little faith in me?" He feigned hurt.

"We-ell, I've been stalking you for the last 8 years – I know a little of your party habits."

"You were _stalking_ me?" Keiran gaped at her, "Wow, how did I miss that..?"

Saphira coughed; a long extended cough that sounded rather like a smart comment.

"What..?"

"I _said_," Saphira said with a smirk, "that's probably 'cause you always had your face in some girl's chest."

Keiran snorted. "I did not _always _have my head in some girl's chest!" _She really was stalking me... Jesus. What else does she know?_

"Just most of the time then."

"You jealous? If you wanted my face in your chest you could've just _asked,_" he said breezily, opening his arms in invitation. "You still could in fact."

"Oh shut up." She shoved him away, but allowed him to reel her back to him straight away. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her hair.

"That tickles." Saphira giggled.

"Sorry" he murmured and buried a bit lower, planting a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck, "Better?"

"Yes- What's that noise?" she swivelled to face him. "That's not your stomach, I hope?"

Keiran fidgeted, a hand clasped over his growling belly. "Nooo.....?" It gave an almighty whine. "Shhh!" he told it angrily.

"That's no good!" Saphira exclaimed, jumping to her feet and collecting her flowers. "Let's get you something to eat!"

"Sounds good to me~" he heaved himself up and followed after her with a last wistful glance around the mini orchard. _I wonder if Darius knows about this place..._ "Will you make me a sandwich?" he asked hopefully. "A chicken one?" Saphira made good chicken sandwiches... His mouth watered just thinking about them.

"Ohhhhhh... I dunno about _that_..." Frowning, she rubbed her chin, eyeing him up as he came through the door into the hallway.

"Pweeeeeeeeease?" Keiran pushed out his bottom lip and tilted his head, a look he knew Saphira found hard to say no to.

"Oh go on then," she said with a sigh, then took his face in her hands and kissed him lightly, "but only 'cause I love you."


	10. Part 10: Don't make me run

Lol… I didn't realise this first bit was so short, oops. OH WELL.

This is the end of the first document, all 159 pages of it. Things get a little different from here on out. Fuahah.

Thanks for reading~

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok Online © Gravity.

* * *

At 8pm, an exhausted but elated Keiran dragged himself up the stairs and down to Kuronosu's office on the first floor. Dinner had been a loud affair, as those who had stayed behind had deemed it necessary to organise a feast to welcome the DBers home. Keiran and his friends had claimed the very end of one of the tables in attempt to avoid the noise, but had been joined by Chris and Shiz, who were being a pain as usual and were demanding to know what drops everyone had got and criticizing their choices.

_She loves me, she loves me..._ Keiran thought over and over as he wandered along the hall, a dreamy look on his face, narrowly avoiding walking into a Crusader who was going the opposite way ("careful!"). Twice already he had walked into walls because he wasn't paying attention. He had no idea if he was going to be able to explain his situation with the card to Kuronosu when he couldn't concentrate for longer than two seconds, but he couldn't just _not go_.

Kuronosu's office door was covered in notices, as was the notice board beside it, explaining the guild rules, latest news on guild alliances, advertisements for cards that were of use to Paladins... He knocked on it hesitantly.

"Come in~"

Kuronosu looked up from his desk as Keiran entered, setting down his pen from where he had been doing the crossword in the daily paper. He had abandoned his armour for the night and was wearing jeans and a plain white tee, his deviruchi hat and toast equip perched on the desk beside him, but he still wore his rosary, resting on its silver chain around his neck. He looked so _normal._.. If very tired.

"Ah, Keiran..." he said with a tired smile, stuffing the paper into a drawer and gesturing at a squishy looking chair in front of his desk. "Please do sit down."

"Yes sir." Keiran sat, fidgeting nervously. Why he was nervous, he didn't know. Maybe it was being in an office of someone superior, like visiting the principal's office at school. Kuronosu's office was nothing like the average teacher's office. It was large and brightly lit, with swords and shields decorating the walls with little plaques under them explaining their origins. On the bookshelves around the room were framed photos – here was one of a younger Kuronosu standing in front of two people who quite obviously were his parents, holding a young grinning girl on his shoulders, and there, Kuronosu on a very shiny pecopeco with brightly coloured ribbons tied up the length of its neck.

"A peco show, at Alberta." Kuronosu said, following Keiran's gaze to the photo. "My first, and last. Three 3rd place ribbons, a 2nd, two 5ths and a broken arm..."

Keiran said nothing, but fixed his attention on Kuronosu.

"Labyrinth was a little over-excited – threw me into a tree." Kuronosu sighed, straightening up in his seat. "So, you had something to talk to me about? A card..?"

"Yes sir." said Keiran, fishing the card out of his pocket and sliding it across the desk for Kuronosu to see. "Um... I'd like to donate it to the guild... But," _Now, how do I say this without sounding stupid..._ "There's a Paladin, Xin; he gave me the card-"

"Yes, Darius told me." Kuronosu said kindly, peering at the card over bridged fingers. "You'd like to see it come back to Xin somehow?"

"...Yes sir, if that's at all possible."

"Of course. That's not a problem at all. ... _However_."

Keiran blinked. "Sir?"

"I _do _think you deserve this card." The Paladin held up his hand to silence Keiran's protests, and continued with a smile, "Although I can understand your reluctance to accept it too. _So, _I will accept this card for the guild, and be sure that its worth is returned to Xin, but I insist that you are rewarded – if you had been a Crusader, your actions would probably have got you Knighted."

"But I didn't _do _anything! Kiba-" Keiran spluttered. _You can get Knighted for pointing out an enemy? What._

"Would also have been Knighted. And as such he too, will be rewarded." Kuronosu said, smiling. "Is there anything you and your friends have need of? Anything at all."

"Anything?"

"Anything. Be it a pool table or an automatic soap dispenser for the bathroom."

Keiran snorted, hastily turning it into a cough, which caused Kuronosu to raise his eyebrows.

Clearing his throat, Keiran stared at the closed curtains thoughtfully, what did they need? They had everything they could want already didn't they..? _No. Not quite._

"Sir... There is something." Keiran said slowly. Was it too much...?

"Yes?"

"The Knight swordsmen, sir, they have a common room..."

"Ahh." Kuro said, leaning back with a creak, looking thoughtful. "I know just the place. Of course, it'll take a little while to get furniture for it, but it will happen..."

Keiran gaped at him. "But sir-"

"I won't hear any complaints, if that's what you want, then that's what you'll get."

"But-"

"Nope. Not having any of it."

"But the _money-_"

"We were very lucky with our event. We have money to throw around – more than enough to get you guys somewhere cosy to hang out before bed."

"... Thank you Sir..."

"Is there anything else?"

"Sir! I couldn't ask any more of you-" Keiran half-wailed, horrified.

"Keiran, is there anything else you want?" Kuronosu said, quite forcefully.

"... A stereo" he muttered weakly.

"Ah, to annoy the Crusaders, no doubt." he said, grinning. "Your wish is my command."

Keiran wilted, sliding down the leather with a squeak. "Thank you sir..."

Suddenly Kuronosu stood up with a flourish, stuffing the garm baby card into a filing cabinet by the door. "Come on, come and give me your opinion on this room then."

Reluctantly, Keiran followed the Paladin out of the office and up the stairs to the swordsmen's floor, half-jogging to keep up with his long stride, where he paused beside the guy's bathroom facing the door opposite, which Keiran knew was there but he never bothered to look behind.

Kuronosu rattled the handle experimentally. "... locked." he muttered, digging into his back pocket and fishing out a key, that he then stuffed into the lock, opening it with a click.

"Master bedroom key." Kuro said, grinning as he returned it to his pocket and opened the door, flicking on the lights. "Okay, in we go."

The room, in Keiran's opinion, was perfect, and he told Kuronosu so. It was about three times the size of his and Darius' bedroom, with four long stained glass windows and a protruding fireplace in the middle of the wall opposite the door. Apart from the fireplace and a few shelves on the side walls, coated in a thick layer of dust, the room was completely empty.

"Hmm, it'll need a good dusting, and airing out." Kuronosu observed, sneezing as he shoved a window open to let in the cool evening air, sending up a cloud of dust and dead moths.

"I can do that, sir." Keiran said hastily. He didn't want the Paladin to give him anything else – it's not like he _had_ done anything, _really._

Kuronosu raised an eyebrow at him, but nodded, forcing the other windows open. "Very well. And you're sure there's nothing else you want?"

"No sir."

"No you're not sure?"

"... There's nothing else I want, sir." Keiran said flatly. "Thank you."

"Ho-kay." Kuronosu said with a smile, shooing Keiran out of the room in front of him and tugging the door closed. "I suppose we should both head to our beds then. We have lessons tomorrow, after all."

Keiran suspected this meant Kuro would be taking their classes again, _hoorah! _And nodded, saying a formal goodnight and excusing himself with a bow, rushing to tell Darius the exciting news (not that he would care).

* * *

(Early May)

"Darius." Keiran said.

Darius looked up from his book. "Mm?"

"Daa-reeus. Daa-REE-us. ...Dah-RAI-us."

"..."

"Daraaaaaaaaaai-_us. Darius. _Dariusssssssssssss."

Darius returned to reading with a frown.

"DAAAAH-REE-USssssssssssSSSSssssssssss!" Keiran exclaimed with a flourish.

"_What?" _Darius said, slamming his book down.

Keiran smiled stupidly at him, doing a good Krazy impersonation. "Nothing!"

"Why do you keep saying my name?"

"I like the way you can say it so many different ways! Da-raaaaaaiusss!"

"... Good God."

"Daaaaa-ree-yusss."

Darius sighed and stood up.

"Where are you going, Deeraaiusss?" Keiran asked, watching him upside-down from where he was sprawled on his bed with no shirt on – it was 4pm and the day had been, and still was, very hot.

"For a run."

Keiran blinked, "you run?"

"When I can."

"Can I come?" he sat up, eager to relieve his boredom – the common room was clean, but the furniture was yet to arrive, despite it being a whole month since the DB event, and as a result he felt there was nothing to do (and he had a theory test on biblical events in two days that he didn't want to study for). He'd already done so many sit-ups that it hurt to move, restyled his hair six times, spent at least an hour staring at the mirror poking his nearly visible abs, _and _had tidied his side of the room.

"I thought you didn't like running?" Darius said, pulling his hair back into a tiny ponytail.

"I don't." Keiran said, seeing if his hair was long enough to tie up. It wasn't.

"... Then why do you want to come?"

"I'm _bored_."

"Why don't you go see Saphira?"

He pouted. "Astarte stoled her away."

"Ahh..."

"Yeah..."

"Alright, you can come." Darius said with a sigh. "But don't expect me to wait for you. ... And I want you to wear a t-shirt."

"Why?" Keiran asked curiously.

"Just do it."

"Okay." Keiran scrambled to his feet and found the least tight t-shirt he had, which proclaimed in loud pink letters 'I 3 LKs **pallys**'.

Darius gave it a withering look before setting off out the door at a brisk walk.

Even at that pace, Keiran had issues keeping up with him, and was puffed before they'd even got outside. When Darius broke into a jog as they crossed the courtyard, Keiran whimpered and sprinted to catch up to him before he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Jogging beside him along the edge of the moat, Keiran tried to copy his breathing pattern, but just couldn't seem to manage it; maybe it took practice? Instead he would run until he couldn't breathe anymore, then would walk, wheezing for a minute, then sprint to Darius' side again. And repeat.

Every time he caught up, Darius would tell him he was doing well, and to keep going - the pain in his legs would go if he ran through it. Keiran found this hard to believe; his calves were on fire, as were his lungs; hell, even his arms hurt.

Finally Darius stopped, and stood, hands on his hips and chest heaving, staring out over the ocean, sweat running down his face.

"... I didn't, realise... we, were... so... close... to-the-sea." Keiran wheezed, falling to his knees in the grass, his breath coming in short gasps, as breathing any other way was too painful to bear.

They were on a cliff, quite high above sea level, near the rear of the castle on the east side. There were huge ragged boulders all around, scattered throughout the grass and a few trees here and there. Over the ocean, gulls called to each other as the waves crashed violently into the cliff face below. Seriously, he really hadn't known there was a cliff that size anywhere near Prontera.

Darius smiled, coming to sit beside him as he toppled onto his back and flung his arms out wide.

"The castle blocks it from view," he said simply, his breathing quicker than usual, but not pained like Keiran's. "Look, you can see Izlude from here."

Keiran heaved himself upright with difficulty and followed Darius' pointing finger with his eyes. Far, far in the distance was a splotch that didn't quite look the same as the rest of the horizon. "Ah." _Damn being blind... "_Hey Alex," he said with a wave, and fell over again.

"We'll take a shortcut back, I think." Darius said, eyeing Keiran's jerking chest with concern. "You don't have asthma, do you?"

"No... no... Just really- unfit." Keiran waved a hand in a don't-worry-about-me way, closing his eyes and trying to get his breathing under control. "Ouch."

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

"Lungs- hurt."

Darius' eyebrows contracted with worry, "come on, you should get back to the castle before you catch a chill."

Keiran tried to snort, but it hurt too much. "A chill- right... It's like- 30... degrees."

"I'm serious." And that he was, his face was completely flat as he held out a hand to help Keiran up.

"..." Keiran said, pulling himself to his feet. "My legs, hurt."

"That's normal, especially since you've rested."

Keiran shivered; up here on this cliff there was a breeze, and although it was warm, where it touched his sweat it was cold. _He _was _serious_...

Darius noticed, and despite them both being sweaty, wrapped his arm around Keiran's shoulder as they walked, rubbing it to warm him.

"What about- you?" Keiran gasped, clutching his chest.

"I'm not sick, I'll be fine." Darius said, chewing his lip.

"I'm... not sick, either." he protested. Then had a coughing fit.

He wanted to scream – it felt like he was ripping up his lungs with every breath he took to recover, and it was all he could do not to as he tasted a metallic tinge in his mouth – blood? He ran a finger over his tongue and looked at it - no blood, so why the taste of it?

"Keiran?" Darius asked.

He coughed again in reply, gasping in pain as he tried to breathe.

Darius looked panicked as he spun Keiran around to face him. "You really don't look well."

"Really..." Keiran managed to say, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, still looking for the source of the blood-taste as his lungs threatened to catch on fire.

"How fast can you walk?"

Keiran demonstrated; walking as fast as his sore legs and burning lungs would allow, pausing occasionally to cough until he gagged, Darius chewing his lip to shreds as he did his best to shelter him from the increasingly cold wind.

"I'll be back, okay? Just keep walking after me." Darius said when they were beside the moat, before turning and darting away.

Keiran stared after him, hugging himself as he walked, one foot in front of the other along the moat bank. Why was Darius so worried? Surely he wasn't going to die, was he? ...

He had another coughing fit, and when he recovered, Darius was rushing back to him carrying what appeared to be a whole duvet, which he wrapped around Keiran's shoulders and rubbed vigorously before encouraging him to keep walking.

Without the wind chilling him, Keiran felt a little healthier, although he couldn't stop coughing and was now bringing up large amounts of God knows _what _with each fit_._

By the time they had crossed the moat via a tiny bridge and entered the castle, Keiran was fed up with coughing and the taste in his mouth. Darius led him straight up to the bathroom and pushed him into a shower, taking down the shower head and making sure it was a suitable temperature before taking Keiran's duvet away and replacing the head back into its holder. Keiran stood, still fully clothed, under the spray, savouring the warmth.

"Take your clothes off," Darius ordered from outside the cubicle. "I'm going to go get you a towel and some clothes. Don't change the water temperature."

Keiran heard the bathroom door open and close, signalling Darius' departure. He stared at the wall blankly; the water wasn't as hot as he liked, but he didn't turn it up - he could just imagine how much harder it would be to breathe in the steam. And anyway, Darius had told him not to touch it. He stripped off and tossed his sopping clothes onto the floor, watching the dye run from his new red socks and swirl around his ankles. Like blood...

His legs were shaking, and when he coughed, he almost fell, just catching himself on the shower fixture. Slowly he sank to his knees, the water cascading down his back. _God, this sucks, _he thought sulkily, his ears pricked to any sound that might indicate Darius had returned. _Why me?_

_Cough cough gag_.

"Keiran?"

Keiran didn't reply, gasping for breath on the floor, and Darius let himself in, his hands full of clothes. Taking one look at Keiran, he flung the clothes over the door out of the wet and in a series of quick movements, turned the water off and wrapped Keiran's shoulders in a fluffy towel, heaving him to his feet to wrap another around his waist.

Keiran hardly noticed, as he was once again trying to rip his lungs to shreds, leaning heavily on Darius as he dragged him out of the shower to sit on the duvet.

"Keiran, speak to me." Darius said in a worried tone, rubbing Keiran's hair dry with yet another towel.

"Hi," he spluttered, clutching the towel around his shoulders closed.

"I sent Arthur to get help."

"So they'll get to see me naked too?" Keiran asked, his voice hoarse.

"I'm sorry about barging into your shower, but-"

"I don't care..." He coughed again, groaning.

Darius tossed a dry towel over his head and proceeded on to drying Keiran's shoulders and chest. It felt good; warming and soothing...

The bathroom door opened and Hikari stepped in, accompanied by a puffed Arthur, both looked worried and confused.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked, approaching the pair.

On cue, Keiran began his most violent coughing fit yet, doubled over with pain while he tried to swallow the stuff he was coughing up, which made him choke...

Darius was saying something, but he didn't hear what it was over the amount of noise he was making. Then Hikari was beside him, pushing him down so he was laying flat on his back. Keiran tried to roll onto his side – he couldn't cough if he was on his back, but Hikari pinned him down with a strong hand on his chest, "just a sec."

Hikari pressed his ear against Keiran's chest, listening as he spluttered, his eyes streaming. He sat up, allowing Keiran to roll over, and said something to Darius, once again drowned in his coughing. The pain in his chest subsided somewhat as he was enveloped in a green light; but Keiran knew you couldn't heal colds, just like you couldn't heal fevers, nor whatever was ailing him now – only physical injuries.

"That's all I can do for him, I'm afraid." Hikari was saying. "We'll get him to the infirmary-"

"No." Keiran rasped. He hated sleeping in hospitals, or anywhere medicine related – something about the smell, and how _clean_ and plain they were... He also didn't want to be alone.

"... no?"

"I want my own bed."

"But Darius-"

"It's okay." Darius said quietly. "I don't mind."

"He's going to cough all night." Hikari said warningly.

"That's alright."

Hikari sighed. "Suit yourself. Then let's get him to bed."

With Darius under one arm and Hikari under the other, Keiran was half-dragged, half-carried to their bedroom, where he collapsed, coughing, into bed. Arthur had brought the pile of still-dry towels and Keiran's clothes, and also a huge woollen blanket, which Hikari spread over the bed.

"Are you cold?" he asked, placing a jug of water and a glass from somewhere on his bedside table.

Keiran shook his head, burrowing deeper into the covers. It was much too early to sleep, really; probably only around 6, but it didn't look like he was going anywhere for a while... Tomorrow was Sunday-

"You'll probably have to skip church tomorrow if you're still coughing like that in the morning." Hikari nodded as Keiran started again. "But then you'll have the whole day to rest..." He stood up from where he had been sitting at the end of Keiran's bed. "I'll let Kuro know, and you'll be in my prayers tonight."

With that he left, closing the door softly behind him.

"What, am I dying or something?" Keiran asked, wincing at the pain in his throat - Darius and Arthur were standing beside his bed wearing grim expressions. Arthur glanced fearfully at Darius, who shook his head and smiled.

"No, you'll be fine." He rubbed the back of Keiran's hand where it was holding the covers away from his face, then closed his eyes and whispered a quiet prayer for Keiran's fast recovery, joined by Arthur.

"... You guys should go get dinner. I'm not worth going hungry over." Keiran said when they'd finished, feeling grateful, and he attempted a smile, but choked and coughed again. _So annoying!_

Darius scowled slightly, but gestured to Arthur that they should leave. "Try and get some sleep," he said gently with a final squeeze of Keiran's hand.

"I had planned on it," he muttered as they left, the door closing with a soft click. And coughed.

_______

His sleep was, quite plainly, _shit_. Every time he finally fell asleep, he would wake up, choking and spluttering, only to roll over with a frustrated groan and try getting back to sleep; Darius watching anxiously from his own bed. Several times he woke up to find his blanket had slithered its way to the floor and left him shivering, but cough-free, then when he tugged it back over himself, he would start coughing again until he gagged.

But somehow he made it through the night, and woke up next morning with a cough to see Darius coming back into their room carrying a tray consisting of Keiran's usual breakfast (half a bowl of cereal, three pieces of toast each with different spreads, an apple and a glass of milk) which he lay carefully on the bedside table.

"Morning," Keiran croaked, sitting up.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Shitty, but thanks for asking." He sniffed. "And now my nose is running."

Darius gave him a sympathetic look as Keiran reached for the bowl of cereal, "Would you like some toilet paper?"

"Oh no, you don't have to – you've already done so much for me, like breakfast, thank you very much by the way. So I'll just sniff."

"I'll get you some anyway." Darius said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder, before picking up the now half-empty water jug. "And I'll refill this for you.

He departed, leaving Keiran feeling rather useless as he snorted cornflakes all over the bed. Hastily he put the bowl down until he'd finished choking, then sniffed loudly. _WAIL!!! _He hated being sick, more so than most people – being sick restricted the things you could do – you couldn't socialise, which, for Keiran, was a big issue.

Experimentally he picked up his cereal again, and stuffed a spoonful into his mouth before he could start coughing again. Unable to breathe through his blocked nose, he had to eat with his mouth open, disgusting himself so completely he didn't know if he could eat any more.

And so, when Darius returned a few minutes later, carrying the water jug, a whole roll of toilet paper and a bright green bucket, Keiran was staring at his cereal with longing, sniffing every second or two.

"Why the bucket? I don't think I'm gonna puke," he asked, reaching for the paper with flailing arms.

Darius passed the roll to him. "It's for your used tissues."

"Ah, you're so clever." Keiran said thickly after he'd blown his nose, feeling nauseated by the sopping tissue; even Darius had his nose wrinkled.

"Charming," he said dryly, holding out the bucket. "Was there something wrong with the food?"

"Oh my God, it's awful." Keiran said, the tone ruined by his illness-altered voice. "Not your food, I mean- I can't eat it, I can't breathe." He pouted, and had yet another coughing session. "This sucks so bad – I can't sleep, I can't eat; I can't do _anythiiiing_!"

"Just take smaller mouthfuls."

"... Okay."

"Alright, I need to get going," Darius said, glancing at their clock – a pocket watch hung on the wall. "Make sure to rest well, drink lots of water, and don't push yourself."

Keiran blew his nose again. "Yes mum."

Darius patted him on the head. "There's a good lad. See you in a few hours."

"Tell Saphira sorry for me?" Keiran called as Darius got to the door.

He paused and looked back, smiling. "Sure thing."

"Cheers." Flashing him a brief smile, Keiran tentatively picked up a piece of toast, taking a miniscule bite and managing to swallow it without disturbing himself too much. "Hey it works..." he told the empty room.

After forcing himself to eat all three bits of toast and had written the apple off as a hopeless cause, Keiran dragged himself out of bed with the woolly blanket around his shoulders and went in search of warm clothes. His search turned out a pair of track pants, some woollen socks he'd never worn before, and a fur lined jacket, all of which he pulled on gratefully, then tottered down the hall to the bathroom with the blanket trailing along the ground behind.

Several minutes later, feeling a little refreshed, Keiran wound his way down the stairs, his coughs sounding harsher than ever in the unnatural silence that had fallen over the castle. Usually, at any hour of the day, you could hear someone laughing or shouting, the clashing of swords and spears from the courtyard, the clank of heavy armour, people singing... But now, with all the inhabitants away at Prontera Church, it was deathly quiet. It made Keiran feel very lonely.

Still expecting to see people as he turned each corner, he headed for the library – the only room he could think of where the silence wasn't alien, with his bucket and roll of loo paper tightly in his arms and his blanket over his shoulder. There, he dragged a couch into the sunniest spot he could find and collapsed onto it, wheezing.

It was another lovely day, Keiran observed sulkily, staring out across the fields. That meant everyone would probably be going training for their afternoon off, and he wouldn't be able to join them...

Kuronosu had told them there would be a Crusader exam in July, but, as he didn't expect that any of them were ready to become Crusaders just yet, had said to think of it more as test to see how they were doing. The next exam would be in January of the following year, and he was adamant the majority would all be able to pass by then.._. _However, this didn't stop Keiran from wanting to do his very best in the first one – you just never know, the exam might be really easy. Hah. Hah...

Mostly, Kuronosu explained, it was set up so that if there were any swordsmen from the previous recruitment that had failed their other exams, they could take it again without having to wait a full year. And it coincided with the Paladin exams which were held four times a year, in January, April, July and October.

Keiran coughed violently, tugging the blanket up under his chin.

So anyway, everyone was making the most of the mild weather and were going out to the fields nearly every afternoon after lessons. And as today was a day off... and it was so _damn sunny, _it was almost guaranteed that the swordsmen would all go. Sucky. Of course, he could still go, but he didn't think he'd be able to so much as wave a sword, let alone practice his energy consuming skills... _And _Darius probably wouldn't let him.

He'd have to stay home and ... study for his test tomorrow. Ew. He wondered if his illness was enough to get him exempt from it... or from classes - not that he _wanted _to miss classes, which, with Kuronosu back in charge, were very entertaining.

_Stupid disease_, Keiran thought, and, sniffing, he reached for a random book. He blinked at the cover thickly. The title was written in faded gold;_ The Language of Amatsu - for dummies. _... Darius could speak the language, couldn't he? Why not try learning it – surprise him a little, maybe. Keiran flicked it open, and was greeted by a whole lot of ... pictures? Characters. _What the hell! _Some text in English at the very bottom of the third page caught his eye; 'By the end of this book, you should be able to read this story.'

_Oh really._ Keiran stared at the page dubiously. _Hey that one looks like a face... _He sniggered, triggering another long session of coughing, and turned to the next page, which thankfully was written in English, with minimal squiggles.

Keiran spent the next two hours sprawled on the couch testing sounds and muttering phrases from the book, punctured by coughs and sniffs, until his watering eyes refused to focus anymore and it slipped from his fingers to land with a thunk on the floor. Admitting defeat, Keiran dropped the pen and paper that he had been practicing the characters called _hiragana_ on beside it and sighed. Or at least tried to; it came out as more of a raspy choke.

It was cosy here, in the full sun... He burrowed deep into the soft couch with the blanket tucked tightly in around him, a drink bottle and roll of toilet paper within easy reach... He let his eyes close... And was jerked awake by a fresh outburst of coughing.

"Go away..." Keiran croaked to himself, biffing another saturated tissue into the bucket, which was getting rather full. Still cursing, he rolled over and curled up, and, somehow, fell asleep.

_____________

Some time later, when the sun had moved around to cast Keiran's couch into shade, he was woken by a soft click; someone had closed the door. _People! _

Keiran rolled over to investigate.

"No, go back to sleep." Darius said very quietly with a gentle smile, putting Keiran's now empty bucket down beside the couch, before seating himself in an armchair by the window and opening his novel.

Coughing, Keiran heaved himself up to sitting position. "'Can't now you're back."

"I can leave if you'd like." Darius said, quite seriously, making to stand up.

"No- no, don't go!" Keiran spluttered, smothering his cough in the blanket. "It was really scary here with no one around – I need people."

Darius sat down again. "I know what you mean... The first time I was here by myself, I was six, it was a Sunday like today and I'd been left behind as Father didn't trust me to stay quiet during the service. ...I spent the whole time in Father's bed with the covers over my head praying I wouldn't die."

"You?" Keiran laughed, and coughed, "never!"

"Oh I did. Ask Sir Kuronosu – he was the one who found me afterwards."

"Don't... make me laugh..." Keiran wheezed after he'd finished dying.

"I'm sorry." Darius said with a smile. "Is that why you're here? Because the silence anywhere else was eerie?"

"Yeah... It was too quiet in bed, even... What's the time?"

"2pm."

"Wha-? Why aren't you out training?" _Wow I slept for ages._

"Oh I didn't feel like it." Darius shot him a grin over his book.

"The others..?"

"They've gone."

"Saphira..?" Keiran asked hopefully.

"She wanted to come visit you, but I told her you probably didn't want to give her whatever it is you have-"

"Damn right I don't."

"So she went with them with a little persuasion. Oh," said Darius, getting to his feet, "she made you sandwiches."

Keiran wanted to squee with happiness, but accepted the plate Darius handed him carefully and lifted the corner of one triangle curiously. "Chicken" he said dreamily, "God bless her."

"She said she loves you and to get better soon." Darius said with a smile, settling back into the chair. "Also, I have a message from Blank."

Keiran raised an eyebrow as he blew his nose. "... ew. Do I want to hear it?"

"Possibly not."

"... alright." He sighed, nibbling at the sandwich. "Let 'er rip."

"He says, quote: what the fuck, you fucking pansy, unquote." Darius said mildly.

"Those words should not come out of your mouth..." Keiran said, staring in disbelief.

"They shouldn't come out of his either, but they do, and there is very little we can do about it."

"Where do you think he gets it from?" He put the sandwich down to protect it from his cough germs.

"I presume it's from his upbringing... Meaning no offence to his parents, of course."

"He did say his dad's a Stalker..."

Darius looked thoughtful. "Hm... I don't think that solely is enough – after all, not all rogues are incapable of stringing two sentences together without swearing."

"Do you know some rogues, then?"

"Yes, and so do you." Darius shot him a pointed look.

Keiran looked blankly back at him.

"... It's good to know that when we go our separate ways that I will remain in your thoughts." Darius sighed. "_Eilk, _Keiran, she's a Rogue, remember?"

"Oh!" Keiran said with a jolt, starting another coughing fit. "Fuck, oh, yes of course." Darius rolled his eyes. "Leave me alone, I'm sick."

After finally finishing one half of the chicken sandwich, Keiran hmm'd/coughed. "I wonder when she'll come visit... Have you heard anything?"

"From her personally, no." Darius said, not looking up form his book. "There are rumours, however, that messengers have been sent to Morroc to discuss a possible guild alliance between the Crusaders', Knights' and Rogues' guilds."

Keiran pricked his ears.

"Note; these are only rumours, and are hardly likely to prove true unless war suddenly breaks out. ... Which is extremely unlikely, unless..."

"Unless the murders continue..?"

Darius itched his chin. "The thing about them is that we can't prove who is responsible."

"But it's the Assassins, isn't it?"

"We can't prove that. And even if it is an assassin's doing, is it an individual breaking the guild laws, a freelance assassin with too much time on his hands, or are they being organised by the guild itself?" He shook his head. "There's nothing solid to pin it to."

There had been three more murders over the last month and a half since the poor acolyte girl had been killed in Prontera, bringing the total up to six since February – two merchants, one in Al de Baron, the other Alberta, and an archer in Payon, all of them girls, and each murder more horrifying than the last; there were stories going around that the freak was dismembering his victims now... Keiran shuddered and crossed himself. The speed this guy was killing at was disturbing, and if people weren't worried before, they were now – if he kept up at the rate he was going at, there would be no first classes left by the end of the year.

No thieves had turned up dead yet, which was like a huge flashing arrow pointing straight at either one of the thieves' guilds; assassins or rogues. Darius had pointed out that they had been lucky and hadn't lost any swordsmen yet either, but there had been traces of poison on the bodies, and Knights and Crusaders don't use poison. As Keiran didn't want to believe that the guild that has raised such a normal person as Eilk could be responsible for such evil, he blamed the assassins, who he had seen nothing of other than the Eremes at the DB event, and that alone had been enough to make him see just how deadly they were...

"Anyway, let's leave that topic behind," Darius said suddenly, closing his book with a flourish and swivelling to face Keiran, who was coughing again. "Good book?"

"Hm?" Keiran wiped his streaming eyes on his sleeve. "Oh. I guess, yeah. I mean, _hai."_

Darius laughed. It somehow didn't sound like his usual laugh... "_mou,_ _nihongo o hanasemasuka?"_

Keiran stared at him. His expression must have been really amusing, as Darius clamped his fist over his mouth and snorted, waving his hand in apology.

"..._nani?" _Keiran hazarded; he knew that meant 'what'.

"_iie, gomen, gomen."_

"_Waka..." _Keiran seized his page of notes and glanced down it, "_wakarimasen..?_"

"_A, sumimasen ne." _Darius sniggered. "_Boku wa haiyai hanashisugimasuka?"_

"I give up! What are you saying!?" wailed Keiran, swallowing some water in a vain hope that it would stop him coughing as he laughed – it didn't.

Through chuckles, Darius said, "I asked you, first, if you could already speak Japanese, then I apologised and asked if I was speaking too fast."

"... Yes, you were." Keiran looked at his piece of paper, grinning. "Um. _Ore__ no ringo- ore no ringo... oishi sou ja nai, yo. Omae o tabetai, yo."_

Darius buried his head in his hands and laughed like Keiran had never heard him laugh before; loudly and openly. It made Keiran grin along with him; even thought he knew Darius was laughing _at _him. When he finally emerged, still chuckling, there were tears running down his face.

"Sorry, sorry… But, you do realise what you said, right?" Darius asked in an unsteady voice, brushing away the tears.

"Uh, something about an apple?"

"You said 'My apple doesn't look tasty. I want to eat you', _extremely _informally."

"Oops," Keiran laughed, collapsing in a fit of coughs.

"Let me see that." Darius said, taking Keiran's piece of paper and the book. "Oh I'm not surprised; this book is rubbish. ... And you've copied it down wrong anyway."

"Psh. How do I say it formally then?"

"That depends on how formal you want to be. A suitable way to say it (although I don't know why you would want to), would be; _'_W_atashi no ringo, oishisou jaarimasen. Anata o tabetai desu.' …_I think what you really want to say is '_anata _no _tabetai desu' – _I want to eat yours."

"Yeah probably..." Keiran said with a grin. "You'll just have to teach me sometime. Oh!" He broke off, coughing again. "Can you look in the front of the book and tell me what that big paragraph story thingy says?"

Darius flipped back to the front and looked at the pages in question. "...hm"

Keiran looked up from his frantic search for loo paper questioningly.

"It's a short children's story about a boy and his dog."

"Can you read it to me?" Blowing his nose, he settled himself back into the couch with the blanket pulled up to his chin, clearing a space for Darius to sit beside him, but not too close – didn't want to give the poor guy any more germs than he'd probably already picked up, and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Sitting down, Darius smoothed the page out. "In English?"

"No, Amatsan- Japanese, whatever you call it."

"Japanese," he said. "Even though you won't be able to understand it?"

"Yeah. I want to hear you speaking it some more..."

Darius raised an eyebrow at the sniffling, watery eyed Keiran briefly, took pity on him, and began reading.

His reading voice in Japanese was deeper than in English, Keiran observed thoughtfully, letting Darius' words roll over him as he started to drowse. Deeper it may have been, but it was just as soft, and his words ran together smoothly, with only slight changes in tone to indicate that someone in the story was speaking... Keiran smiled softly; sleep was just there – if Darius would just keep reading, and if he could not cough for another minute...

Just one more minute...

On the edge of his subconscious he heard Darius shift – lying the book down and leaning back with a gentle sigh...

BANG.

Keiran jerked upright to see Darius face-palm.

"Shh!" Someone told the door angrily, "Sorry Darius, is Keiran-"

"Sleeping?" Keiran said with a groan, dragging a hand through his hair_, strange how these people always know our names... "_Not anymore."

"I was going to say _here _actually. But since you are here..." said the Crusader, who Keiran had only ever seen once or twice before. "Sweet, that makes my job super easy."

Darius gave Keiran an apologetic look as he sank back into the couch, sniffing, then turned to the newcomer. "What can we do for you?"

"Urm. Sir Kuronosu is looking for you, well, Keiran. ... and he's not looking, he's waiting, _I'm _doing the looking, but-"

"Okay, okay, we get it," Keiran said peevishly. "Where is he then?"

"In your room" said the Crusader, scowling at Keiran's tone.

"And is he coming here, or am I going to him?"

"You're going to him, duh."

"Alright then. Thank you." He waved his hand dismissively, reluctantly dragging himself to his feet. "Er... I'll tidy this mess up later."

Coughing and spluttering, Keiran and his blanket made their way to the bedroom, followed by Darius, who deemed it necessary to bring the bucket. The Crusader had gone elsewhere thankfully, as Keiran would have liked to strangle him.

Sir Kuronosu was standing outside their bedroom door, staring blankly at the wall. Recently there were frown lines starting to take root on his handsome face, and those, coupled with the staring for hours at a time, made Keiran think he was a lot more worried about the murders than he was letting on. He was still the same happy person to talk to though, and he didn't let it effect his teaching... But Keiran couldn't help but feel sorry for him, having to deal with it by himself. Hopefully he had someone he could talk to...

"Oh, Keiran!" Kuronosu said in surprise, smiling. "I was expecting Don to come back and tell me where you were, not for you to show up yourself. You should be resting!" He ushered them into their room and as the boys went to sit on their beds, pulled up a chair. "... Why is there a dining room chair in here?" he asked curiously.

Keiran opened his mouth to explain, but choked and started coughing again, so Darius explained how it had randomly turned up in the middle of the hallway one day and they had adopted it until someone came to claim it... which hadn't happened.

"Oh..." Kuronosu shrugged expansively – he was wearing his full armour today, and looked around. "I'm glad to see you're keeping your room at least somewhat tidy."

"Yes Sir."

"Anyway! I'm not here to discuss your room; I'm here to discuss _you._"he nodded politely at Keiran, who blew his nose loudly. "And your ...illness."

"Sorry," Keiran said, feeling rude.

The Paladin waved his apology away breezily. "It's hardly your fault; we all get sick some time. ... To the point then: are you well enough to attend classes still?"

"Uh. I _want _to come to class..." he said truthfully, "but I don't want to annoy everyone..."

"Or put their health at risk?" Kuronosu finished, and at Keiran's nod, continued, "Well, I am more than happy for you to take as long as you need off to recover-"

"But-"

"No, let me finish. And once you're feeling better, I personally will give you catch up lessons – you're very bright, you'll have no problems."

_But I don't want to miss class! _Keiran could see another one-sided argument coming up – you just couldn't win against Sir Kuronosu when he was feeling generous, and sagged. "Thank you very much, Sir."

"Not at all."

"... Am I not allowed to go to classes?" he asked hesitantly, just to make things perfectly clear for himself.

Kuronosu looked at him consideringly, and he started coughing again. "... I would _prefer_ it if you didn't, but I can't stop you wanting to learn, can I?" He was smiling kindly, but there was something in his voice...

"Okay, Sir... I'll take some time off." Keiran said dutifully.

"Good, good. Oh and you don't have to worry about coming down for meals, I have some people who seemed very eager to help you out when they found out you were sick, and have offered to wait on you."

_... _Thought Keiran, _I hate you, stupid disease. _He didn't like this at all. Sure he was sick and incapable of doing much, but did everyone else have to think he was _completely _useless too? _I don't want to be waited on by _anyone! ..._I'll just have to get better super fast._

"And the test tomorrow – you can take it later."

"Thank you Sir."

"I trust Darius won't tell you all the answers?" Kuronosu winked at Darius, who had a Bible open in front of him.

"No Sir. I won't tell him even how many questions there are." Darius said with a sly smile. Keiran stared at him in disbelief. _Stingy bastard._

"Twelve, but that's good to hear." Kuronosu got to his feet and patted Keiran on the shoulder. "I'll pray for your fast recovery – I can see that not being able to do anything for a few days is going to be very difficult for you. Rest well, and don't strain yourself. I'll look forward to seeing you again in class."

With a farewell to Darius, Kuronosu replaced his deviruchi hat on his head and strolled out, closing the door lightly behind him.

Keiran fell back with a sigh, and coughed violently. "This is gay. This is _the gayest _thing that has ever happened to me."

"I'm sure there have been worse things in your life than a little cold." Darius said, shuffling into a better reading position.

"This is _not_ a _little cold_. And you have no right to be mean to me when I could quite easily blame you."

"I wasn't being mean-"

"You were."

"How is it my fault?"

"You made me run."

Darius laughed uncomfortably. "I did not _make _you run."

"You did."

"No, I seem to remember you begging me to let you come..."

"Bad memory," Keiran said as he unwound some more toilet paper off the roll; it was starting to look rather empty. "And after I told you not to let me run all that time ago too!"

"..."

Keiran glanced over at him; Darius' expression was one of guilt as he gazed vacantly at the pages before him.

"I'm joking, you know..." Keiran muttered, feeling guilty himself now. "I don't blame you."

Darius said nothing.

"... And I don't want you to blame yourself, either. I just got unlucky, okay? Believe it or not, I have my bad days too."

The corner of Darius' mouth twitched.

"... Now are you going to get this decrepit old man some more loo paper, or do I have to get it myself?" Keiran chucked the empty tube at Darius, who caught it deftly in one hand and threw it back, chuckling.

"I'll get it for you this once, but this will be the last time, ever."

* * *


	11. Part 11: Surprise!

Thank you to those people who are still reading :D Love ya.

Gotta love hints of yaoi, lol.

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

Darius lied. He continued to fetch rolls of toilet paper for Keiran for just under a week, and then, when it became clear that his cold was not going away any time soon, he kidnapped a full pack of 12 rolls, which Keiran had stored under his bed for easy access. Keiran was, by then, well and truly fed up. He had given up staying in bed all day by Tuesday – sick of not seeing anyone but Darius and Xin, who turned out to be the person who'd offered to help, yay. Although, Saphira insisted on coming to visit him in bed, which was nice, except he couldn't so much as touch her for fear of passing his illness on...

On Thursday he started attending classes again, despite his tendency to explode into coughing fits anytime he was expected to talk, or move. He doubted very much that he was learning anything, but Kuronosu assured him he would teach him everything again once he was better, _hint, hint, go back to bed, hint_. But he survived, and slowly, his cold dwindled, and two weeks later, disappeared completely, leaving nothing but a cough that was inclined to re-emerge when he laughed too hard. Now he and Darius matched – he hadn't managed to make it through Keiran's period of poor health unscathed, which was hardly surprising since he'd slept in the same room as him for over two weeks – he too had a mild cough, but Darius being Darius, you hardly heard about it.

Summer had arrived - the only people in the castle to wear their armour now were those who were going out adventuring, or on formal business, and they were quick to complain about the stifling heat and how bad their sweat was for the metal. Every day saw the inhabitants sprawled out in the shade in the courtyard, the sun being far too hot to train between the hours of 10-4. Those who braved the heat and continued their training routines as usual were quickly reduced to panting blobs melting into the cobbles. It had become quite normal to see people walking around with their hair dripping wet in attempt to combat the unending heat, or with very little clothes on and amusing sunburn as they rode their pecos home from spending the day at Kokomo Beach.

With his illness finally gone, Keiran was making the most of the nice weather and being able to do anything and everything. After lessons he and Darius would often trek up to the top of the cliff and practice their skills until they ran out of energy, and then they would collapse into the shade of the few trees and Darius would read his book as Keiran drowsed. More often than not, Keiran would disappear into the blossom garden with Saphira to catch up on all the hands-on time he had missed.

He was having a hell of a time trying to divide his time between everyone; always feeling like he hadn't hung out with Kiba and Arthur enough this week, or had been neglecting Darius in favour of Saphira... Being a social bunny was hard work. It would be so much easier if they could just all hang out together, but Kiba always buggered off when Saphira and Keiran were together, and he could hardly invite her to come hang out with him and Darius, that would be rude to Darius...

"Happy birthday, by the way," Keiran said sleepily. They were up on the hill again; Keiran absently listening to the breeze rustle the grass and the gulls yelling to each other as he lay on his belly in the shade.

Darius sighed and turned the page on his latest book. "You know as well as I do that it's not my birthday today."

"I know. But knowing me, I'll forget to say it tomorrow."

"I won't hold it against you."

"You're turning 19. That's practically 20. You don't turn 19 every day, so I can't forget." Keiran plucked a blade of grass and slit it in half with his nail. "Are you sure I can't organise a party for you?"

"Yes, quite. As I've already said, if you throw me a party, I will leave."

"And we can't have a birthday party without the birthday boy... I know." He pouted. "So do you have any plans? Visiting home?"

"I did consider it."

"But?"

"I got a letter yesterday from Yuki." Darius said with a sigh. "He's coming to the castle to visit."

Keiran blinked. "Your brother is?"

"Yes."

"So I get to meet him?" Keiran sat up, interested.

"Yes." Darius smiled over the edge of his book.

"When? When is he coming?"

"Tomorrow lunch."

"Oh gosh! So soon! ... Is he much like you?"

"You do like to jump around with your conversations, don't you? But no he's not, not at all."

"I think he will be like you." Keiran decided. "Does he read all the time too? How old is he by the way?"

"He's 12, and no; he's more interested in physical pursuits."

Keiran sniggered.

"..."

"Sorry, inappropriate, I know."

Darius sighed. "It's impossible to have a conversation with you without you making some immature comment, isn't it?"

"I didn't make an immature comment; I sniggered." Keiran pointed out with a smirk.

"Same thing."

"I just ain't getting enough action lately, you know. Ma' mind's going mad!"

"I don't want to know about your personal life."

"Sure you do."

"No, I assure you, I don't." Darius returned his full attention to his book, turning his back slightly to Keiran.

"... So what do you want for your birthday?"

"Again with the jumping around" he said with a sigh, "I don't want anything."

"Sure you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah you do."

"No, Keiran, I don't." Darius turned the page and continued reading.

"..." Keiran dragged himself over to his friend and snatched the book from his hands, hiding it behind his back. "You must want _something_."

Darius made no move to take it back, but sat, looking exasperated. "I want my book back."

"You can't have it back until you tell me what you want for your birthday."

"I told you, I don't want anything."

"And I told you, yes you do." Keiran insisted. "Everyone wants _something_."

"Alright, I want world peace."

"... I mean like," he waved his hand around vaguely, "real things, you know. Objects."

"Material things? Oh, in that case I don't want anything." Darius removed his glasses and leaned back against his tree, closing his eyes; if he couldn't read, he'd sleep instead.

Keiran shuffled closer and began pulling up grass which he dropped on Darius' lap boredly. "Are you really going to just let me go buy you any old thing without even the slightest clue as to what you like – what if I get something that offends you?"

"I don't want you wasting your money on me."

"But I _want_ to!"

"You should be saving for your Incubus horns."

"Shut up!"

"Okay." Darius yawned, lazily waving away a bee.

"No! I mean. _Please _just tell me! I have no idea at all." Keiran pleaded, tugging at Darius' hand.

"I don't want anything."

Keiran made a frustrated noise and let Darius' hand fall to his side. "Okay, then if you won't tell me, can I guess at what you want?"

Darius raised an eyebrow, "I suppose."

"Special birthday sex."

"I'm not you!" He spluttered with laughter.

_Ouch, that hurts. _"Um. Training gear?"

"I have everything I need for the moment."

"A book?"

"Hmm, coming from you that's pretty insightful."

_Is that a yes? _"Thank you. What sort of books do you like? Novels, right?"

"What gave you that impression?"

"Um, you like ... romance?"

Darius smiled.

"Man, you're annoying." Keiran sighed, bringing Darius' novel around to look for clues. "... Fantasy / romance?"

There was no reply.

"But how do I know which ones you've already read? ... You read so much, 's impossible for me to remember..."

Still no response.

"Darius?" Keiran gazed at him – Darius' eyes were closed. _Is he sleeping?_ he wondered.

Sighing, he heaved himself to his feet and collected his sword and guard from where he had let them fall earlier. With the first Crusader exam just over a month away, he was starting to feel the pressure. He was still determined to treat it as a real exam, and so was taking all their lessons and training sessions very seriously. However, he didn't have the foggiest idea what the test would consist of – would it be a written test? A duel against a classmate, or an older guild member? Or would they be expected to kill monsters? A combination of them all? Better safe than sorry, and study for everything.

Tugging his leather gloves back on, he left the shade of the trees and ventured into the sun in search of monsters. Up here there were porings, lunatics, and beetles the size of your hand called thief bugs. And the occasional cowring, which were black and white porings wearing cowbells that smelled of milk when popped. Whatever will they think of next? They were all easy monsters, but it was the best they could find without travelling for half a day on foot or paying a priest to warp them somewhere more challenging.

By the time Darius joined him half an hour later, he was completely drained again and they headed back to the castle to meet Kiba and Arthur in time to have a quick trip to town before dinner.

When Keiran excused himself at the coffee shop to go find a gift for Darius, Darius rolled his eyes and told him for the hundredth time he didn't want anything. _Tough cookies, you're getting something. _He thought with a smirk.

The morning of Darius' birthday was probably the most uneventful birthday Keiran had ever seen. It was all so _formal._ Whereas Keiran had greeted him in the morning by jumping on his bed and singing 'happy birthday to yooou' entirely too loudly, the rest of the guild deemed it necessary to bow as they said congratulations and happy birthday in polite tones when he passed in the hallways. How they all knew it was Darius' birthday, Keiran could only guess, and he doubted very much that Darius had sent them 'it's my birthday' notes.

He hadn't given Darius his present yet, which Darius seemed to think was highly suspicious, but Kiba had kindly given him a headband with white puppy ears attached to it, which, Keiran admitted to him as all the girls cooed and giggled when he wore it, made him look extremely cute; it had been carefully set aside shortly afterwards. Arthur had given him a poporing (green poring) card which Darius agreed would be useful if they ever encountered Eremes again, as it allowed the use of detoxify. Saphira, Natalie and Chaku had baked him an enormous chocolate cake, which Keiran had already eaten half of as Darius had made the mistake of telling him to help himself, as he would never be able to finish it before it went stale. Match had given him a puzzle book and a pen; from Blank, a whole sentence without swearing. There had of course been nothing from Chris or Shiz, as they were far too superior to even say happy birthday, and he'd got simple happy birthdays from Yule and Chakii.

Astarte had obviously put a lot of thought into her gift, and it paid off. She had sidled up to Darius at breakfast with a big square package wrapped in simple blue paper, had wished him happy birthday with a smile and had placed the present in his hands, then had watched him intently as he unwrapped it. Darius' face had lit up when the paper fell away, revealing a stack of three shiny new paperbacks. He had spluttered something like 'it's the new series by blahblah blah', and had stammered thank you so much it had got repetitive, then surprised everyone by jumping to his feet and hugging a very pleased Astarte briefly to his side, before settling down with his new books; the one he had been reading previously lying forgotten beside him. Keiran had to give her credit – she was doing better than he had ever thought possible when he had first noticed her interest. Hell, she even got more of a reaction out of him than Keiran did sometimes; he doubted his present would earn him a hug... not that he wanted one, really.

Keiran and Darius were just heading to lunch after their morning lesson when they heard a very loud cry from the entrance hall beside them;

"_Darius-niichaaaaaaaan!!!!!"_

"Oh, he's here..." Darius muttered, but with a smile playing around his mouth.

Keiran turned around, just as Darius was hit in the chest by something rather short and blue.

"_Omedetou!" _it exclaimed, refusing to relinquish its hold on Darius' waist.

"Thank you, Yuki," said Darius, ruffling the boy's hair fondly. "But please, while you're here, speak English; otherwise no one can understand you."

Yuki blinked. "Oh, sorry."

Darius smiled, turning to Keiran. "Keiran, this is Yuki, my younger brother. Yuki, this is Keiran, my closest friend and classmate."

"Oh! _Hajimemashite, _pleasure to meet you!" Yuki released Darius and swept into a graceful bow.

_Ah so this is Yuki..._ "And you. Darius has been as useless as ever and has refused to tell me anything about you – I've been very interested to meet you."

Laughing lightly, Yuki took Keiran's outstretched hand and shook it gently – his hand was soft and rather small in Keiran's, his skin pale, almost white.

"Did you come with anyone?" Darius asked.

As Yuki turned his attention back to his brother, Keiran tilted his head on the side and observed Yuki thoughtfully as they chatted, comparing the pair. Yuki came only up to Darius' chest, and was a _little _stockier, although that might change as he grew... His hair was a couple of shades lighter than Darius', but their eyes matched exactly, and their skin tones might have too of Darius hadn't spent so much time outside earning himself a light tan. Yuki's face was boyish and bright, and there was a sparkle in his eye that Keiran suspected might indicate he was just as intelligent and clever as his brother. He'd never seen two siblings so physically similar without being twins...

"Oh, and Father is here too – he said he would come down at dinner to see you."

Darius' smile in reply looked a little forced. "How long are you staying? Have you eaten?"

"No! Uh, I think until tomorrow lunch? Mm lunch."

Darius took Yuki around the shoulders and steered him into the dining hall, Keiran following them with a grin.

Yuki was received by their fellow swordsmen with many exclamations following the lines of 'he's so _cute_!' and 'he looks just like a mini Darius!', and he was quickly stolen away by Chakii and Natalie; Yuki looking very happy with all the attention.

"Are you going to be a Paladin too, Yuki?" Natalie asked, piling chips onto a plate for him.

"Of course!" Yuki puffed out his chest proudly. "Our family has been Paladins since forever – I'm not about to break tradition."

"Are you a Novice yet?"

"Not yet. I still have a couple of years of school to do."

"Ah, school..." Keiran said reminiscently, turning away from the boy and his fan girls. "Seems like such a long time ago now."

Darius hmm'ed thoughtfully, flicking to the next page of his new book.

"He's a lot more, you know, outgoing, than you."

"Who?"

"Yuki."

"Oh. Yes."

"Why?"

"Why?" Darius blinked questioningly at him.

"Why is he more outgoing than you?" Keiran waved a finger roll at him. "I have to know."

"You don't _have _to know."

"Yes I do."

"Not this again..." he sighed and put his book down carefully, helping himself to a veggie roll. "Just to get you off my back, I'll tell you my theory."

Keiran paused in the act of stuffing his bun with as much chicken as it could possibly hold. "Oh?"

"Yuki attends a public school-"

"_Really? _I'd never have worked that out, what with him saying so himself two minutes ago!_" _he exclaimed loftily, now trying to persuade his one lettuce leaf to stay in the bread – it kept leaping out when he went to close it.

"Keiran, shut up."

"Okay." Success! The roll was closed. Now to cut it........

Darius gave him a withering look as Keiran attacked his sandwich with a very blunt butter knife, bits of chicken falling out all over the place. "...Use this." he said, handing him a sharper knife, which Keiran took mutely.

"And you? Did you not go to school? ... You're awfully smart for someone who didn't."

"... I was home-schooled."

"_Ohhh..._ That makes sense. And voila~!" Keiran held up a quite mangled, but perfectly functional chicken roll with a flourish. "No wonder you're a social retard."

"Why do I bother telling you anything?" Darius asked with a sigh, adding a little more tomato to his own roll.

"You _don't _tell me anything though."

"Yes I do, you just don't listen."

"I do so listen. I'm listening right now aren't I?" Keiran said over his shoulder as he nuzzled Saphira, who was sitting beside him as usual, and tried to switch his sandwich for her own perfect one at the same time. She giggled and after a moment of trying to fend him off, allowed him to trade one half of his for a half of hers.

"... You, my friend, and I, have very different ideas of 'listening'." Darius said, picking up his book again.

"Psh! Like you can talk – always reading!"

"I, however, put my book down when you have something worthwhile to say."

"But you're reading now."

"Because you're not saying anything worthwhile."

"Saphira!" Keiran wailed, clinging to her. "Darius is being mean to meee again!"

Saphira patted him on the head consolingly. "There, there. Here, take the rest of my sandwich and give me yours – it was quite nice."

He perked up immediately. "You liked it...?"

"Yes, it was yummy."

Squeaking in happiness, Keiran hugged her. "I love you!"

"Love you too," Saphira said with a giggle.

"He's like a puppy..." Kiba observed from the opposite side of the table. Beside him Arthur nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe I should have saved the puppy headband for his birthday instead. Which is when, by the way?"

"26th of November!" Keiran said happily, taking a bite of Saphira's sandwich. "So goooood!"

"... You can almost see his tail wagging..."

Saphira laughed, but not at what Kiba had said – she was looking at Yuki, who was recounting one of his more amusing days at school for the girls with a huge grin on his face.

"... Should I feel threatened?" Keiran asked, watching them blankly.

"And the tail stops wagging," said Kiba. "He's like 10, why would she ditch you for a 10 year old? He hasn't even hit puberty yet, for God's sake."

"Oh, I was actually meaning that if he's this good with the ladies _now_, how good is he going to be when he's 18?" he said ponderously. _He'll be a higher level than me. zOMG. _

"By which time you will be a Paladin and far too handsome to feel threatened by anyone." Saphira said soothingly, giving him a kiss. In the background, Kiba gagged.

"Am I not handsome enough for you now?" Keiran asked, wiping a bit of mayonnaise off her lip. Kiba choked on his lemonade.

"Of course you are." She kissed him again ('get a room!' said Kiba). "I was just saying that you're only going to get more attractive the older you get. Paladins don't lose their looks as they age, from what I've seen; they just get more rugged... Which in itself is attractive."

"Actually that's a valid point." Astarte contributed. "I mean look at Breakthru – he's like _how_ old, but still damn fine."

"... You think Breakthru is hot," Kiba said flatly. "I don't believe this..."

She ignored him. "And have you noticed there are no flat out _ugly _people in the guild? There's a few people that are odd looking (like those chicks with the man muscles), but nearly everyone is average or above."

"... And you?" Kiba asked. "Why are you here?"

Astarte brandished her glass of water, and he muttered a quick apology and made himself a sandwich. She had him well trained.

"It's true~" Keiran agreed, tugging Saphira into his lap despite the heat. "I'm yet to see an obese Crusader. ...Although, Saph, you might want to cut back on the fatty foods, you're getting a little heavy."

She hit him, laughing.

"Ewww..." Kiba said. "Fat Crusader... Bad imagery."

They all pondered this.

"How would they fit through the doors? A Crusader's armour is bulky enough to start with that they can only just fit, but..." Saphira said, wrinkling her nose. "Eww."

"Ah! So that's how they decide who to accept!" Keiran hit his fist against the palm of his hand in sudden comprehension. "They look at your family for a history of obesity."

"..." said Darius, scowling at him over the edge of his novel.

Keiran hid his face behind Saphira's shoulder, whispering, "I think I made him mad again."

"Looks that way."

"I'm not mad." Darius said, pouring himself a glass of water, "I'm just amazed by your stupidity."

"You don't look amazed." Keiran said, plucking at a loose thread on Saphira's shoulder cloth thing.

"Do you want to know how they select new swordsmen?"

"Yeah?"

"If you take down all the decorations in the common room, I'll tell you."

"... How do you know about those?" Keiran pouted. He'd worked so hard last night, blowing up balloons and hanging up streamers all over their common room for Darius' birthday. Darius hadn't been supposed to go in there until that afternoon... Party-pooper.

Darius smiled slyly.

"Well I'm not taking them down!"

"Then you won't know about the swordsman selection." He returned to his book.

"Fine! I don't want to know anyway!" Keiran sniffed and stuck his nose in the air, turning away from him, which was hard to do with Saphira on his knees.

Yuki was now being pampered by the other girls. Natalie was brushing his silky hair back into a ponytail (it was straighter than Darius', and longer), as he tried to explain to her, using Chakii as an example, how the warriors of Amatsu wore their hair these days. Which turned out to be a very high ponytail with loose bits at either side of the face.

As the swordies started preparing to head for their outside (in the heat, ew) lesson, Yuki's smile slipped from his face.

"Aren't you going to come?" Darius asked as he passed.

"Can I?!" Yuki leapt to his feet, his enthusiasm rekindled.

"Of course."

"We have Kuro at the moment; he's not going to care." Keiran added.

"_Sir Kuronosu_" Darius corrected, sighing.

Skipping along beside his brother, Yuki asked, "What are you learning about today?"

"A skill called Magnum Break."

"Coz it's stinking hot outside, so we go play with fire." Keiran said dryly, swinging his and Saphira's arms as they walked.

Yuki dropped back to walk beside him instead, and he leaned close to whisper, "Keiran-_oniisan, _is she your girlfriend?"

"Yuki..." Darius started, but Keiran waved him away, seizing Saphira around the waist and pulling her close.

"She sure is. Isn't she pretty?" he said, grinning as Saphira blushed.

"Yes! _Oneesan, kirei desunee. _That means you're pretty,_" _Yuki smiled at her. "_Oniisan _is very lucky."

Still blushing, Saphira thanked him politely.

"What do they mean? _Oniisan and oneesan?" _Keiran asked, hoping he said them right. Were they even two separate words..?

"_Oniisan_ means older brother, and _oneesan_ is older sister. In Amatsu it's quite common for young people to call those slightly older than themselves by those names, even when they're not related." Darius explained, leading them out into the courtyard. Then he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Why are we stopping?" Keiran inquired curiously, peering over his shoulder.

Under the shade of one of the few trees in the courtyard, Kuronosu was standing stiffly, looking very hot and bothered in his full armour, sweat dripping down his face. Beside him was a stone bench, and sitting on that bench was a Paladin.

Keiran could tell just by looking at him that he wasn't any ordinary Paladin. Despite the heat, he too was wearing full armour, which was gold with silver decoration around the edges of each plate, and his cape was of black velvet, but he managed to look cool and collected; his back completely straight as he surveyed the courtyard through dark eyes. His hair too was dark – a blue so deep it was almost black, cut and styled in the fashion that Yuki had been showing the girls; with a straight cut fringe just below his eyebrows, the long bits in front of his ears and the rest pulled severely back into a high ponytail, ending sharply between his shoulder blades.

Keiran didn't need to be told who he was – the aura he was giving off was so powerful he wanted to throw himself on the floor in subservience - and his suspicions were confirmed as Darius finally took a deep breath and strode out into the sun, bowing to the Paladin and saying, in a polite tone, "Father."

Lord Ishikawa turned his head to look consideringly at his son for a moment before standing smoothly and moving to clap Darius on the shoulder, saying something in Japanese, causing Darius to lift his head and force a smile as he replied, also in Japanese.

"Ah! And these must be this year's other swordsmen?" Lord Ishikawa beamed, turning to face the swordies, who were all still huddled in the shade, watching nervously. "Come out, come out, so I can see you! Oh and Yuki's here as well, good, good."

They all filed out and lined up in front of him beside Darius, bowing deeply; presumably everyone else thought this guy was important too. Keiran bowed as deeply as he could without looking unco, but as he straightened, there was a slight frown on the Paladin's face as he looked him over.

Finally, he nodded and smiled. "A very good bunch this year, Kuronosu, you've done well."

"Thank you, my Lord." Kuronosu said, bowing and sending a small shower of sweat to the cobblestones. _I hope he doesn't pass out... _Keiran thought, staring directly ahead as Lord Ishikawa flicked his dark eyes over the group again.

"As I'm sure you have already worked out, I am Lord Ishikawa Jin, current leader of the Guild of Crusaders, and a Lord of Amatsu, although that's not important to you... I'm very sorry I haven't been able to come and introduce myself to you earlier, but I've had very little time to call my own recently." He looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling and clapping his giant hands together and turning to Kuronosu, who sprung to attention from where he'd been wilting. "Alright, Kuronosu, I'll hand them back over to you. You don't mind if I watch?"

"No, my Lord, it would be an honour." Kuronosu bowed and stepped forward as Lord Ishikawa took his seat on the bench again, looking expectant. Yuki sat at his feet, shooting his father a grin which was returned in part.

"Alright..." said Kuronosu, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a cloth from inside his armour somewhere. "If you'd like to pair off and practice your drills, then best of 3... Then pick up from where we left off yesterday... "

As Keiran passed him to get to Darius (Astarte had snapped Saphira up already), he twisted his expression into one of concern, and Kuronosu replied with a brief smile that quite clearly said 'I'll live'. How did Lord Ishikawa not notice his discomfort? Or did he notice and just not care? But he didn't seem that mean... In fact he seemed perfectly nice. Nicer than Breakthru, for sure...

After warming up (or over-warming up as the case might be), Keiran bowed to Darius, who bowed back and took up his duel stance, and a split second later Keiran's wooden sword was half way across the courtyard and Keiran was clutching his smarting hand.

"Ouch?" he said in shocked disbelief. "What was that for?"

Darius didn't smile, or apologise – his face was one of determination, but Keiran caught a flicker of something else run across it, so briefly he thought he'd imagined it – regret.

Hurt and confused, Keiran rushed to retrieve his sword, and returned to Darius, who was waiting, already prepared for another bout. This time Keiran was ready for his speed and managed to flip his sword over to catch Darius' before he could flick it from his hand again, then brought he shield up in attempt to catch Darius' chin with it, but he dodged and lunged again. By fluke, Keiran caught the sword between the guard and Darius' hand on the edge of his shield, and they were locked together. They both stared at the problem for a second, then moved at the same time. As Keiran twisted his shield in attempt to disarm him, Darius unhooked his sword from where it was caught and brought his own shield around, catching Keiran full in the chest. He staggered back, winded, only just managing to block Darius' next sword swing aimed at his chest, and was rammed again by Darius' shield, and again. Keiran fell back, struggling to get his breath back, and Darius shoved him, knocking him onto the ground where his sword was unceremoniously kicked from his hand and sent spinning away, and Keiran felt the slight prick of the wooden sword at his throat.

"I give. You win." Keiran panted, holding up his hands in surrender

Darius didn't move, his eyes cold as they looked down the length of his sword.

Keiran's smile faded, and despite himself, felt a stirring of fear as the pressure on his throat increased. What was wrong with Darius? Why was he acting like this? Sure it might be a wooden sword, but they could still do some serious damage with enough force behind them... "Darius-"

"Bravo, bravo." Lord Ishikawa said, clapping as he came up to them, a wide smile on his face. "Well done, Darius, you've improved. You can let him up now."

Darius' expression didn't change as he relaxed his grip on his sword, eyes still fixed on Keiran's as he rolled over onto his side.

Keiran dragged himself slowly upright - there was no kind hand to help him up this time - massaging his throat and trying not to feel too upset that his friend had become this- this cold unfeeling person he didn't know.

"You, soldier." Lord Ishikawa said, rounding on Keiran as he finally got to his feet; Keiran immediately fell into a bow. "What's your name?"

"Keiran le Lievre, my Lord." Keiran stammered to his feet.

"Duel me."

Keiran glanced up in surprise. "My Lord?"

Lord Ishikawa took Darius' sword from his unresisting fingers and examined it thoughtfully. "Duel me."

"My Lord, I must protest-" Kuronosu spluttered, hurrying over from where he had been helping Chaku to make full use of her shield.

"No, no Kuronosu, I'm interested to see this boy's talent for myself." Lord Ishikawa spun the sword a few times in one hand and tossed it easily to the other where he repeated the move. "He is one of your star pupils, is he not?"

"Yes, my Lord." Kuronosu muttered, stepping back.

"Come now, Keiran-_kun_, show me what you can do. I can tell you're a more than capable swordsman – pitting you against Darius is hardly a fair way to show your skill."

A sudden thought hit him as he retrieved his sword and shield, _Darius has been holding back on me. All this time I thought he was my equal and he's been _holding back_. _Keiran wanted to scream in frustration, anger, betrayal, but that would hardly be appropriate, so instead he shot a venomous glare at Darius and returned to stand before Lord Ishikawa, feeling very small (the Paladin was a whole head taller than him, and twice as wide) and wishing he was anywhere but there right now.

"Don't hold back." Lord Ishikawa said, inclining his head politely and positioning himself in an original duel stance.

Keiran bowed deeply, nerves rising to new heights. This was his chance to show the leader of the Guild of Crusaders that he wasn't as useless as Darius had just made him look. He felt a wave of anger at the thought as his positioned himself.

Lord Ishikawa started off the duel with a gentler version of the same move Darius had used to disarm him earlier, which Keiran blocked easily with his shield and swung his sword in a way that was designed to cut the gut of the enemy open. Although in this case it didn't work – Lord Ishikawa's stomach was protected by 2 inches of metal that Keiran's wooden sword would never have managed to even scratch, and in any case Lord Ishikawa was far too experienced to be gutted by a swordsman, and stepped back lightly to avoid the attack. Keiran lurched forward after him, aiming to knock the Paladin back with his shield, but he stepped aside, and Keiran went straight past him, skidding to a halt and spinning on his heel, ready to defend against any sudden attacks.

However, Lord Ishikawa hadn't followed him, and had returned to his stance. "I said don't hold back."

Keiran tried very hard to stop himself snarling. _I'm not holding back!_ _You're too fast!_

Lord Ishikawa raised his eyebrows at his expression and charged forwards, clanking with each step. Fighting back the urge to turn and run, Keiran braced himself with his shield raised, and somehow caught the Paladin's blade on his own as they collided. Twisting his sword, he prevented Lord Ishikawa from pulling it back and rammed his shield as hard as he could upwards into the Paladin's chin. It met the steel throat guard with a resounding clang and the Paladin jerked back, looking mildly surprised. Keiran quickly jumped on the offence, using both sword and shield to strike as Lord Ishikawa resorted to using the armour on his free arm as a shield while blocking and parrying with his sword.

He was falling back under Keiran's furious onslaught, and the last of Keiran's nerves vanished; he smirked, aiming his shield at his chin again while blocking a disarming strike from Lord Ishikawa.

Suddenly he was once more on his back, his sword gone and the knuckles of his right hand bloody; Lord Ishikawa was looking down at him pensively, the wooden sword in his right hand, and a very real, very sharp katana in his left, thankfully not at his throat, but still pointing at him.

"... Not bad at all." Lord Ishikawa said, wiping a little blood off the blade of his katana and sheathing it easily. "You do have talent, especially with your shield. And your attacks will be very powerful once you have the body weight to put behind them."

Keiran scrambled to his feet in order to bow, panting heavily. "Thank you very much, my Lord."

"One thing you need to watch; don't get overconfident - the fight isn't won until it is won."

As Keiran spluttered his comprehension, Lord Ishikawa nodded, handing the wooden sword back to Darius, whose face was carefully blank, then returned to his seat in the shade to watch Blank and Match, who hadn't stopped their own duel to watch like most of the others had.

Kuronosu hurried to Keiran's side, his face concerned. "Show me your hand."

Still dazed by Lord Ishikawa's compliment, Keiran raised it mutely.

At Kuronosu's sharp intake of breath, he glanced down, only just realising how much his hand hurt. And no surprise either, Lord Ishikawa's sword had sheared off the edge of his leather arm guard, through his gloves and had taken a good few layers off the tips of his knuckles – as a result they were bleeding quite freely, the blood trickling down his fingers to soak through the seams and drip merrily to the ground.

"Heal," Kuronosu commanded, and the blood drips slowed and then stopped as the wounds closed themselves over, leaving behind clean, shiny pinkish skin.

"Thank you, Sir" Keiran managed, flexing his fingers experimentally. He could feel it tugging at the new skin when he clenched his fist, but it didn't tear.

"No problem," he grinned, glanced around, then took Keiran by both shoulders and said quietly, "you did very well. I'm proud."

Keiran inflated with pride as Kuronosu gave him a pat on the back and went off to help Natalie, and looked around for Darius, who was staring at him looking like he'd very much like to say something nasty, his sword clutched tightly in his hand.

Keiran deflated immediately, once again fetching his sword and reluctantly standing beside Darius. How was he supposed to practice his Magnum Break with Darius when he was acting like Breakthru? No, he was worse than Breakthru – at least _he_ actually talked. ... Not to mention that Darius had already mastered the skill whereas Keiran was having issues getting the flames to stay on his blade like they were supposed to. …So he was going to get his butt kicked, again.

Luckily Kuronosu announced that they weren't to test the skill on each other, due to a water shortage meaning they didn't have any way to put people out when they were hit with a successful skill. So they were to practice the fire endowing part of the skill separately instead.

After the third time Keiran almost succeeded in setting his feet or Kiba on fire, Kuronosu came to his rescue.

"Okay." he said, after watching Keiran try and fail to keep the fire on his blade while it tried to slip off like paint, "you're not concentrating enough on the blade. It takes a lot of practice to get it to the point you can keep it there without thinking about it, but you'll get there. Try again, and think very hard about keeping the flames on the sword – think about the wood on fire, if that helps."

Keiran concentrated, and swung his sword, igniting it magically. He always wondered how that worked, it's not like the swords had any special fire-making abilities, heck, they were made of wood, they should burn to ashes in no time. This time, as Keiran glared at it, the fire stayed on his blade for a few seconds longer before slipping off.

"..." said Kuronosu, "that was better..."

"Hardly."

Kuro chuckled, fanning his face with his hand. "Don't take it too hard – you can't be good at everything."

_Darius is..._ Keiran thought coldly, shooting him a glare. _His _flames had no issue sticking to his sword as he went through their warm up exercises.

Kuronosu caught his glance and patted him consolingly on the shoulder, "don't worry about it, he'll be-"

However, Keiran didn't get to find out what Darius would be, as Lord Ishikawa was on the move again, now asking Blank, who had proved to be very good at Magnum Break, to ignite his katana – steel swords were harder to make the flames stick to. Blank looked smug as he took the Paladin's sword with a bow, swung it a few times to get a feel for it, then with a glance at Lord Ishikawa, ignited the blade, swinging it again; the flames stuck like glue. The Paladin smiled as he complimented him, and gestured for the sword to be returned, which Blank did on bended knee. _...He didn't smile at me..._ Keiran realised randomly, feeling a little let down.

By the end of the lesson, they had all received some compliment or another from their Lord; even Arthur had been told that the strength of his ignition swing had been just right each time. Kuronosu, who looked and sounded like he'd sweated all his energy away, dismissed them with a tired smile, and a warning to make sure they practiced. They all bowed to Lord Ishikawa, and followed by an excited Yuki, headed up to the dorms to change before chilling in the common room.

Keiran followed Darius slowly – he still hadn't said anything to him, and Keiran was getting rather upset, despite Saphira and Astarte trying to make him feel better.

Their dorm room door was open as he approached, since Darius had gone in already. As soon as he stepped through it was slammed closed behind him, causing him to jump and spin around in surprise.

Darius was leaning on the door, looking exhausted with his head in his hands. "I feel so bad," he sad, very slowly and carefully.

Keiran stared at him.

"I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have treated you like that – there should be no excuse for that." Sinking to the floor, he glanced up at Keiran, his face twisted in pain, his eyes oddly bright. "I understand if you can't forgive me."

_What...? _

"... I just want to know why." Keiran said eventually.

"If I had _known- _if I had known he was going to be there- I could have warned you." Darius was almost pulling his hair out in his frustration. "I'm so sorry..."

"..."

"... How do I say this...?" He sighed. "I guess it comes down to my being selfish again."

That was the first time Darius had brought up their drunken conversation at the Knight's party...

"... I don't want him- I... I wanted him to praise me..." Darius threw his head back into the door with a groan, "I'm so stupid."

Keiran sat down beside him, fiddling with the rug "... you're not stupid. There's nothing wrong with trying to impress your old man."

"But not at your expense!" Darius protested. "Don't try to tell me what I did was right- it wasn't."

"...Okay, so maybe it wasn't the greatest lesson ever, but I don't care; now I know why. I'm not gonna hate you for it or anything. No harm done!" He waved his arm vaguely, noticing his ripped glove again. "Okay so there was a little harm done, but Kuro healed me so we're all good!"

Darius' lip twitched. "... I must say, though... You did really well against my father. I was really impressed.... And a little jealous." He smiled.

Keiran chuckled, "I knew it! I knew you were jealous of my amazing 1337-hax0r 5ki11z!"

Shoving him playfully, Darius laughed.

"...I have one problem though..." Keiran said soberly.

Darius' smile slipped.

"... why have you been holding back all this time? You totally kicked my butt today."

"Oh... I'm really sorry-"

"Actually, no, lemme guess. You didn't want to stand out too much from the others?"

"You're exactly right..." Darius said with a grim smile.

"Fair enough, I guess." Keiran itched his chin thoughtfully. "But that's really not good for your fighting ability."

"What?"

"Well, if you're holding back all the time, you're not going to get any better, are you?"

"... No?"

"So! I want you to duel me at full strength from now on." Keiran announced.

Darius looked at him in disbelief. "But... Sorry, I don't mean to sound arrogant, but if I did that you wouldn't be able to beat me."

Keiran snorted. "Then so be it! I'll only get stronger in the process, until one day I'll be able to say I beat Darius Ishikawa at full power!" He stretched his arms out in front of him. "I don't mind looking weak for a while and the others won't think less of you for it – we all know you're talented, regardless of whether you're the Guild leader's son or not... Am I making sense?"

"I suppose so..."

"I'm just saying, really, everyone likes you for you - so you shouldn't have to worry about hiding stuff from them. If they don't like who you really are, they're not worth calling friends anyway," said Keiran, smiling at him. "As long as you still smile and help me up after you kick my arse into next week, you'll still be my mate."

Darius' expression was one of touched surprise. "I-... Thank you... very much. That means a lot to me, truly."

"No probs. It's what best mates are for, right?" Keiran tugged him into a quick one armed hug. "Er... I hope that the angry you isn't the real you...?"

"Of course not!" Darius looked horrified. "Do you know how much it cost me to keep up that facade while you looked up at me with hurt eyes? I just about broke down."

"Oh I'm glad, 'cause to be quite honest, you were bloody scary," said Keiran with a relieved sigh, causing Darius to chuckle. "You know, you're a good actor; I was nearly convinced you were going to try kill me with that sword."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" asked Darius with concern. "I didn't mean to press that hard, but with Father looming over my shoulder..."

"Nah, nah. I'm all good." He waved his hand dismissively. "You really don't like him, huh?" _Oops, should I have said that...?_

"I wouldn't say I dislike him – he is my father after all. But.... he's a strict teacher and can be very hard on me. However, I know he only wants me to be the best I can be, so I have to try."

"Still, that's no reason to make you into something you don't want to be."

Darius ran a hand through his hair wearily. "Can we stop talking about him, please?"

"Oh... yeah sorry."

"I suppose we should get changed and go see what trouble Yuki's causing in the common room, what with all those balloons..." Darius grimaced and heaved himself to his feet, then turned and held out his hand to Keiran, smiling.

Keiran, feeling whole once more, grinned widely in reply and took his hand.


	12. Part 12: Surprise! No2

This part was rather long, so I've split it in two for those people who can't seem to read more than 8000 words. ;D

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity.

* * *

Yuki had, in fact, collected all the balloons from where they had been scattered about the room and tied them all to a very long red ribbon, and had wrapped the whole thing around Kiba, who was swearing colourfully as Yuki darted around him, laughing.

"... Hm" said Keiran, observing the bubbly, brightly coloured post that was Kiba, "Yuki, I think he needs another green one right about _here_." He pushed Kiba in the chest, and he fell over backwards onto a couch with a loud BANG as the balloons on his rear burst. Shrieking, the more sensitive people leapt for cover.

"You know what, Keiran? Fuck you." Kiba growled, trying to stop a pink balloon from repeatedly hitting him in the face whenever he moved. Yuki rushed forward, a green balloon in hand, followed by a sniggling Chakii, who had procured a large bag of hot pink balloons from somewhere.

"Language~" Keiran trilled, wandering away to join Saphira on a faded green couch. He was welcomed with open arms and he gratefully slid in front of her as she twisted to sit with her legs on either side of him. He sighed.

"How's Darius?" Saphira said quietly in his ear, massaging his shoulders. _Mmm massage... _

He sighed again, relaxing, and nodded in Darius' direction. "Take a look."

Darius was sprawled on the couch by the window, his new book open in one hand while the other gesticulated in the air, a smile on his face as Astarte listened with her usual intent expression that always made Keiran think she wasn't just asking questions of his books to make conversation, but _actually _cared for the answers.

"He looks fine now." Saphira said ponderously, her thumbs digging into Keiran's shoulder blades.

"Oh shit, there. Yes. Aaah..." Keiran groaned, leaning into the pressure. "Yeah he's alright, he was just..." How much should he tell her? It wasn't for him to say, really... "Trying to prove himself to his dad."

Saphira somehow understood immediately and nodded.

"Lower..." Keiran sighed happily as she obliged. "Where did you learn how to give massages? Seriously, you're amazing."

"My mum taught me. She said I couldn't be sure of what job the man I married would be, but if he were a warrior, he would always appreciate a good shoulder rub when he finished work for the day."

"Your mum sounds like a very wise lady." Keiran said blissfully as Saphira went back to loosening his shoulders.

"She is. Maybe you can meet her and my dad sometime."

"Meet the parents already, huh?" He tilted his head back to wink at her, and she kissed him, moving her hands down his chest.

"... That looks uncomfortable." Match commented from where he sat the floor, leaning against the couch. Blank's arm was resting limply on his shoulder as the other boy snoozed, taking up the whole of the couch with his lanky form.

Blank had come out (or more to the point hadn't denied accusations), and everyone that knew anything now knew he was gay, and was with Match. Match didn't seem as comfortable with this as Blank did, and tended to blush whenever their relationship came up in conversations and constantly told Blank off for trying to touch him in public. Keiran almost felt sorry for him; he most certainly wouldn't want to be with Blank himself. There was nothing wrong with him as a person, and he was actually quite fun to be around if you could overlook the swearing, but he was _so_ controlling ... Poor Match would never get any time to himself; especially since they shared a room... _Thank God for stone walls_ was all Keiran could think, feeling slightly nauseated at the thought of what they could possibly be doing on the opposite side of the wall while everyone was trying to sleep.

Keiran pulled away from Saphira, rubbing the back of his neck where it had cramped up, and looked over at Match. "It does get a little painful after a while, yeah..."

Saphira shooed his hands away and took over, her slim fingers running over his neck lightly before increasing in pressure.

"But when you have an expert masseuse for a girlfriend, it doesn't matter." Keiran said lightly, closing his eyes in pleasure.

"..." said Match, turning back to his magazine.

"Anyway..." Keiran said, his eyes still shut, "Party tonight?"

Saphira giggled into his hair. "I thought Darius didn't want a party?"

"Well no, he doesn't. But if we have a party and just pretend it's a normal party and not one for him, then he'll never know."

"Good plan, except I heard it all." Darius' voice said from above him.

Keiran opened his eyes to see Darius looking down at him with raised eyebrows. "Oh poo."

"See, you really don't listen." Darius sighed, helping himself to a slice of his birthday cake, then cut slices for everyone else too. "Thank you, I appreciate the thought, but I really don't want to be a nuisance," he said, handing a plate with a large slice to Yuki, who dropped his balloons and fell upon the cake greedily.

"But I _want _to. Why don't you get it?" Keiran wailed, taking the plate he was offered. "It's mean to keep denying me my fun all the time!"

"... Alright then, if you're so keen, you can have your party."

"It's not _my _party, it's _yours. _But YAY!" Keiran exclaimed loudly, causing Blank to jerk awake and smack Match in the face in his haste to sit up.

"Fuck, sorry." Blank said, quickly patting Match's jaw bone in what was probably supposed to be a comforting manner; Match waved him away. "... Keiran, why, when I was having the most fucking amusing dream _ever, _did I hear your bloody obnoxious voice yelling 'yay'?"

"You only swore twice in that sentence!" Keiran exclaimed, covering his mouth in mock horror. "And you actually used my name!"

"Oh, did I? Well fuck me." Blank rolled his eyes. "Next time I'll remember not to, alright, retard?"

"Much better." Keiran said, opening his mouth for Saphira to feed him cake, as he'd finished what Darius had given him already.

"Oi, so what was so freaking 'yay' that you had to wake me up?"

"I didn't wake you up. 's not my fault you're a light sleeper."

"...fuck off."

"We're having a party~~~~" Keiran said loudly, so even Chris and Shiz stopped playing their game of ping pong to listen.

"When?" Chris asked curiously.

"Tonight!"

"Short notice." He snorted, retrieving the ball from under one of the coffee tables.

"Well we're so fucking so-rry. No one asked you morons to come," Blank said and kidnapped Match's magazine. Match sighed and took another from the pile.

"So what, we're not invited?" Shiz asked, looking a little sulky.

"Course you are, 'can hardly keep you from coming into your own common room, can I?" said Keiran. He didn't really want Chris and Shiz to go, but like he said, there wasn't much he could do to stop them aside from barring the door. "Arthuuuuuur~?" he called.

Arthur looked up from where he had been doodling very absent-mindedly on the whiteboard that a Crusader insisted they had so as to write important dates and the like on. So far all it had was a very bad drawing of a person with an arrow sticking out of their head; there was an arrow pointing to it saying 'KIBA', written in Blank's block handwriting, which had been crossed out and replaced with 'Blank is a fag'. 'Fag' had also been scribbled out and replaced with the word 'LEGEND'. Around this delightful illustration and its enlightening message were Chaku's drawings of lunatics, flowers and other such pretty things, and she was a much better artist and her creations actually resembled the monsters they were supposed to be. Here and there people had scribbled their own comments, such as 'DariusKeiran is n00b'; this had been changed by Astarte, not Darius. It was doubtful Darius even knew it had been written. Also written in Match's tiny, neat hand – 'Mirror shield: 2mil. Wind element sword: 700k. Warp to seals; 2k. Having your Reflect Shield kick in when that sinx tries to Soul Break you; priceless. Some things zeny can't buy, for everything else, there's Blank's storage account.' Followed by Blank's storage account number which had been scribbled out, very aggressively.

Anyway.

"Yeah?" Arthur said, blinking at the picture he had drawn, which looked to be a stick figure riding a duck, or maybe it was a goose...?

Keiran tore his eyes away from it. "Can you please write something on there for me?"

"Yeah?"

"Party, tonight, 7pm, here. Just rub out Kiba, he won't mind."

"It's not me, it's Blank!" Kiba shouted, now covered in pink balloons. Keiran wondered briefly why he was allowing himself to be tortured so – although the pink did go quite nicely with his silver hair...

Arthur wrote it up exactly as Keiran had said it, commas and all, but left Kiba's portrait alone, instead writing the notice between it and 'Saphira 3's Keiran'.

Yule flounced over in a pair of tiny denim shorts which drew all eyes, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, to her very long, very slim, very _sexy_ legs. "Are we drinking at said party?"

Keiran prised his eyes off her legs and raised them higher, where they came to rest on her ample chest, which was threatening to leave her white tie-shirt (was she going for the blacksmith look?). "... Could you, you know, put some clothes on?"

"Hypocrite." She snorted at him, eyeing up his bare chest, his shirt having been removed by Saphira some time during his massage. Keiran felt Saphira tense behind him and he gave her knee a comforting squeeze and took his eyes off Yule completely.

"Alcohol, yes? No?" Yule demanded impatiently; having lost Keiran's interest she floated over to Kiba, who was still gaping at her legs, and began unwinding the ballooned ribbon.

"Yeesssss." Keiran said, rearranging himself so he could cuddle the still-bristling Saphira, pulling her close to his chest. Saphira shot Yule a last warning glare over Keiran's arm before sighing and relaxing against him. "I was gonna go nick some booze from the kitchens later. I'm sure no one'll mind..."

"Or more to the point, no one will _notice_." Match contributed, extracting Blank's hand from his shirt. "I'll come with you when you go." Blank's hand became a claw and was dragged up Match's breastbone, his face was turned towards the back of the coach so his expression was hidden, but Match seemed to understand this message. "... And Blank will come too."

Keiran grinned. "Cheers." _Wow everyone's so possessive today.... _Although he didn't blame them; he too had found his lip curling and a snarl rising in his throat when he had caught Chris checking out Saphira's behind when she left after breakfast. Chris' nervous grin when he had caught Keiran's expression had been most amusing…

_Mating season~ _

Speaking of which… Him and Saphira had been together for what, 3 and a bit months now? Was that too short a time? She had never shown any inclination to wanting more from their relationship… Whereas he certainly did – it was almost getting to the point where her every touch was heavenly torture. … But... What if it totally ruined their relationship? Was it really worth it? YES, screamed the voice in his head. _No! I_ m_ust endure! One more month, at least!_ _Come on, Keiran, you've gone longer than 4 months without sex before!_ Well… 6 months actually, now that he thought about it…

"I'd watch out, Saph," said Kiba, snapping Keiran from his ponderings, "Keiran's looking at you like he'd like to take your clothes off."

Saphira blinked and look up at Keiran, who quickly rearranged his face into one of puzzlement with practiced ease, cursing Kiba inwardly.

"Hm?" he said curiously, hoping he sounded clueless.

Kiba snorted.

"What?" Keiran spluttered at him then looked at Saphira; she was watching him carefully, her expression unreadable. "What did I do?"

"Oh, nothing." Saphira said with an easy smile, snuggling up to him again.

Freed from her watchful eye, Keiran glowered at Kiba and mouthed '_like you can talk, fucker.' _Kiba, now balloon-free, gave him an evil smirk in reply and draped an arm casually around Yule's slim shoulders; she raised her eyebrows briefly and crossed her legs, leaning back against him. Kiba's smirk widened and he mouthed something back at Keiran, shooting a meaningful glance at Yule's chest.

_How depressing, he's gonna get laid before me… _Keiran thought sorrowfully. _No, I can't think like that. It's not a race. I'm gonna be good and take this at Saphira's pace – When she's ready, I'm ready, even if it doesn't happen for six years. ..By which time I'll have gone insane. No, shut up, I can do this. _He nodded to himself determinedly and pulled Saphira closer, planting a kiss on the top of her head and trying hard to ignore the desire that leapt up in him as she ran her hand along his thigh softly.

Looking around for a distraction, Keiran's eyes came to rest on Yuki, who was now playing a board game with Chaku, Natalie and Chakii on yet another couch. Kuronosu had been overly generous in the decorating the room – there were a total of 8 couches of various shapes and sizes now lining the walls, surrounding the ping pong table and several coffee tables that were piled high with magazines. The book shelves had been put to use and sported a wide range of second-hand books, from educational ones to novels, much to Darius' delight. On the few days it had been cold, it had been very cosy in there, and even in the unending sun, the stone walls helped keep the heat out and the cool in. All in all, it was perfect.

There was even a stereo.

"Anyone object if I put some music on?" he asked the room at large. From Darius' lack of activity, it didn't look like they were going anywhere today, not that Keiran minded – it was far too hot outside.

There was a general murmur of 'no', so Keiran extracted himself reluctantly from under Saphira and trudged over to flick through the giant pile of CDs that Kuronosu had also given them.

"…Oh wow" he muttered after rejecting several CDs on the pretext of being 'boring'. He inserted the one he had found into the player and hit play.

_Blanco!_

"…" said Darius, who had followed him over to make sure he didn't choose anything inappropriate. "What is this?"

"This, my friend, is rap music from my homeland." Keiran said, smiling widely.

"I thought you were from Prontera."

"I am, but you really think I get this skin and my high cheekbones from my Pronteran father?" Keiran leaned back on his arms. "No way, my mum's from Rachel."

Darius blinked in surprise. "Rachel?"

"Yep, Rachel. You know, desert town up north, tends to produce profs?"

"… Can you speak the language?" Darius asked, interested.

"_Si, poco._" At Darius' astounded look, Keiran laughed. "I don't know enough to have a decent conversation in it, but I can read it and understand when it's spoken to me."

"How did you manage to keep that a secret?"

"Yeah, I'd have thought you'd be bursting to show off the fact you speak two languages." Astarte said. "Anyway, Chakii says to put something different on 'cause it's giving her a headache."

Keiran pulled a face.

"You can put it back on later. Put something quieter on for now."

"I have some-" Darius started.

"No. No. And no" said Keiran forcefully, shaking his head. "Your music is boring as hell. It has no singing and you can't dance to it."

"Actually, you can dance to it."

"I don't care. The answer is still no."

In the end Keiran found a compilation of rock music, all in English, which seemed to meet everyone's approval so long as it wasn't too loud, and he settled himself back down with Saphira again with a book on the theory of Swordsman skills.

An hour later, Keiran was starting to lose his concentration due to Yuki, who had insisted on joining him and Saphira on their couch, and as Keiran liked to take up as much room as humanly possible, Yuki was cramping his style, so to speak.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in?" Keiran said curiously. No one ever bothered to knock usually; it was a common room after all, not someone's bedroom...

It was Xin. He let himself in and bowed. "Sir Keiran, may I please speak with you?"

"You're a _Sir_?" Yuki exclaimed excitedly, suddenly in Keiran's face.

"No, I'm not." Keiran gently shooed him out of the way and got to his feet with a sigh. "Look, Xin. Could you just call me Keiran? I really don't need the sir."

Xin peered up at him with a slight frown. "... Keiran."

"Yeah..." He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "What did you want to talk to me about?" The quicker he was gone, the better. Everyone was staring, despite knowing all about Keiran's fan boy - Xin having come charging up to Keiran at all hours of the day with various gifts to present to him on bended knee. Not that Keiran himself minded the staring, but surely it got to Xin? ... Or maybe not. Did he even have a personality?

"I have something to show you, Sir." Xin said, a smile lighting his face, "if I could be so bold as to take you from your friends for an hour...?"

This was different... Keiran raised an eyebrow, glancing over his shoulder at everyone watching them. Saphira was smiling in a way that suggested she didn't mind him going, and Darius hadn't more than glanced up from his book. "I guess...?"

"Of course, the young Lords Ishikawa are welcome to come also," Xin said, bowing to Yuki and Darius. Yuki immediately jumped to Keiran's side, looking indecently eager, and Darius didn't move until Keiran attacked him with a cushion, when he put his book down carefully and heaved himself upright with a dramatic sigh.

As they followed Xin out the door, Keiran could hear Kiba complaining about being left out. _Don't worry, Kiba, _Keiran thought,_ you won't be missing much... he's probably just cleaned the bathroom or something..._

However, they didn't go to the bathroom, or anywhere inside the castle for that matter. No, instead, Xin led them outside to the stables, which in the heat smelled _delightful, _down the rows of stables with their occupants honking at them hopefully, and through the back door into another section of the stables. The stalls in here were bigger, with thicker beds of straw and there wasn't a male peco peco in sight.

"This is the nursery." Xin said helpfully as they gazed around. "I must ask you to keep your voices down while you're here."

In nearly every stall was a female peco peco sitting in the hay looking very bored, but determined.

Xin led them to the very end stall, where a peco peco was standing, watching someone who was bent over, poking something in the straw. As they approached, the person straightened and turned to face them.

"Hey," said Hikari, raising a hand in greeting. "Come to see my babies?"

"Babies?" Keiran asked in shock.

"Come over here." Hikari beckoned them closer with a grin on his face.

Keiran leaned on the rails and peered into the stall. There, snuggled up together in the hay were three baby peco pecos – fuzzy and yellow, just like ducklings, but the size of a fully grown duck.

"Oh my God." said Keiran. "They're so cute."

Yuki nodded fervently in agreement, standing on the bottom rail of the fence to see better.

As they watched, one of the chicks lifted its head and looked up at them with curious eyes, emitting a strange squeaking noise; the mother peco made a noise in her throat, and the baby stood up and fluttered his tiny, tiny wings.

Keiran was hit by a sudden thought. "... Will these be our pecos?" he asked Hikari.

"Not these little guys, no. They won't be old enough to ride when you become Crusaders." Hikari looked down at the chicks fondly. "They will be given to guild members who are close to retiring their pecos from work, to be trained as their second bird."

"Can I hold one?" Yuki asked. Darius shh'd him, but Hikari smiled and scooped up the chick that had woken up and had been tugging at a piece of hay with his beak, handing it to Yuki. The mother peco watched him warily.

"Just keep him where Iris can see him." Hikari said, rearranging Yuki's arms so the baby was cradled comfortably. It didn't seem bothered by its abduction, and with a happy squeak, started nibbling at Yuki's hair.

"Do you guys want to hold one too?"

Keiran nodded eagerly, holding out his hands for the next chick – a female, Hikari said – she was just as soft and cuddly as she looked, Keiran thought, resisting the urge to bury his face in the baby feathers as she pecked hopefully at Keiran's fingernail. "I want one!" he wailed.

Hikari laughed, handing the last chick to Darius, who looked thrilled. "All in good time."

Smiling, Xin let himself into the pen with Hikari and went to talk to the mother peco; she greeted him with a nudge.

"How old are they?" Darius asked, stroking the little bird's head.

"One day-" Hikari checked his watch, "exactly, to the hour."

Darius nodded, then looked thoughtfully from one chick to another. "Don't peco peco's usually only lay two eggs?"

"Aaah, you know your stuff," said Hikari delightedly. "That's correct. However, we do get cases where a mother will stop sitting on her eggs for whatever reason. If that happens we give the eggs to other broody pecos to hatch, as they don't seem affected by an extra chick at all, and it's always hard to leave a fertilised egg for dead."

"... Can you eat peco eggs?" Keiran asked suddenly. They were birds - like giant chickens, so why not?

"No. Well, humans can't eat them – makes us sick." Hikari said casually. He didn't seem to be offended that Keiran was considering eating one of his precious peco eggs.

"Oh..."

"How long do pecos live for?" Yuki asked, his chick now burrowing into the sleeve of his shirt.

"Around 30 years."

Keiran whistled in surprise.

"But they only stay in heavy work – as a battle or adventuring peco until they're 17, then they're retired, but their owner can still ride them casually until the peco becomes unwilling, or too old to go out anymore, which usually is around 25 years. Then they're retired permanently."

They digested this slowly.

"When do they start training? How long before these guys are ready to ride?" Keiran asked, hoping Hikari wasn't getting fed up with all the questions. He didn't seem fazed however, and leaning easily on the fence he said;

"They've begun their training already." he nodded to Darius, who was persuading his chick to stop chewing his shirt by waving a bit of straw in front of its face. "Everything we do with them affects what sort of bird they'll turn into. Of course, they already have their own personalities, but at this stage it's a little hard to tell what they are. They formally begin their training when they're a year old, when we start teaching them to accept a saddle and to respect their handlers, if they haven't already been taught to do so. When they're two years old, they're officially 'broken in' and can begin their careers as crusader mounts."

Keiran pondered this. 15 years with one peco... If he became a Crusader in the January exams... He'd be 19... 19+15 = 34. Wow. Being 34 years old seemed like a long way away.... He wouldn't get his own chick for _ages_. "...Is there any way to... you know, have two pecos?"

Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, like, have one for riding, and raise a chick alongside." Keiran said, trying to clarify, while trying not to laugh as the chick pecked madly at his crucifix.

"Ah... You can't have two pecos yourself unless your first one is retired... But what you _can_ do is help out in here during nesting seasons." In the background Xin nodded. "We usually end up adopting a mother as our own, and when her eggs hatch, we adopt her chicks too. Iris here, for example, is under Xin's care this season. As a swordsman, you don't really have enough time, but later you'll have enough to share between everything."

Xin moved over to Hikari and whispered something in his ear, shooting an apologetic glance at Keiran. Hikari looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

"Xin's just asked if he can show you the yearlings – the pecos that will become yours, if you're interested..?"

"I'd love to!" Keiran exclaimed eagerly; Yuki and Darius nodded, their expressions just as keen, despite Yuki not actually being even a Novice yet.

Hikari grinned. "Good-o. If you'll just give me Iris' chicks back..."

After making sure the babies were safely back with mum, Hikari and Xin exited the stall and led them outside into the sun.

"Fwaah it's hot" Hikari observed, squinting up at the cloudless sky as he strolled through the grass towards one of the expansive peco paddocks, where a mob of pecos were snoozing with their heads under their wings, trying to pass the heat of the day. Then he whistled.

Every head came up to look at them, and as one the flock began moving towards the fence where the humans were standing.

"One, two, three- four..." Yuki counted, then made a frustrated noise and started again.

"Twenty," Hikari informed him kindly.

As the pecos approached, Keiran could see that they weren't fully grown yet; their legs too long for their bodies, their heads too big and their markings not yet visible against their dull orange plumage.

"How do we get assigned one?" Keiran asked. _Was there a better way of phrasing that question?_

"That depends." Hikari said, vaulting the fence to pat the nearest yearling on the beak. "Come in, come in. They won't hurt you."

Soon they were completely surrounded by honking, whistling pecos, all of which seemed intent on standing as close to the boys as possible, though they kept a respectable distance from Xin and Hikari. Keiran suspected it came with training.

"Sometimes, while you're out here, you'll end up forming a simple bond with one certain peco, and if you're both willing he will become your mount. We try to encourage all new Crusaders to spend half an hour every day out here with them; to encourage natural bonds. Look- Keiran, you have a friend." Hikari pointed over Keiran's shoulder.

He turned to see one particular peco with the beginning of a crest on his fine head standing right behind him wearing a curious expression. The other pecos had meandered off to harass Yuki.

"Hullo." Keiran said to the peco, who tilted his head to one side.

"That one's a male." said Hikari helpfully. Keiran, facing the other way, didn't see his knowing smile.

"Does he have a name?"

"No, they aren't named until they have a partner to name them."

_We get to name them ourselves, yay!_ Keiran thought happily, running his hand up the peco's grey-blue beak.

"How would you like to be my friend?" he asked the peco quietly as it blinked its intelligent grey eyes at him. "I assure you we'll have lots of fun together."

The peco grunted, and then lifted his head suddenly to gaze off into the distance. Keiran found himself following the gaze, but saw nothing but grass and trees.

Slowly, the peco dropped his head again, and began grazing. Keiran watched thoughtfully as the peco tilted its head to seize the grass in its powerful beak, then would jerked his head _sideways _and _up _and the grass was gone, presumably swallowed whole.

"Keiran, we should be heading back." Darius said from behind him somewhere.

The flock had moved off slightly, now all grazing; every now and then one would lift his head to look over at the humans, or into the distance.

"Oh yeah, sure." Keiran replied, giving the peco a last affectionate pat on the shoulder. His hand hit something metallic, and he paused. Upon not seeing anything, he ran his hand back across the feathers he had been touching and there it was again. _"_..." Carefully he lifted the feathers just above the peco's wing; there, above the topmost joint was a metal bracelet, wrapped loosely around the bone. On it was carved a date, a long number, and two names, one he didn't recognise, but the other – Labyrinth.

"Hikari!" he called, smoothing the peco's feathers back into place gently.

"Yup?" Hikari said, dropping a peco's leg from where he had been examining its claws.

"This peco's tag has Labyrinth's name on it. Is he related?"

"Labyrinth is his father, yes," he replied offhandedly, moving towards the fence again. "He fathers around 50% of every season's chicks at the moment. He's the perfect sire – fast, sturdy, intelligent and kind; we're very lucky to have him."

Keiran followed him slowly. This peco breeding business seemed to have a lot more to it than letting two pecos mates... Maybe he'd be able to understand it all later in life, when he didn't have a crusader exam to study for... _Which reminds me! We were supposed to practice magnum break_. _Feck_.

After a last cuddle with the peco chicks, Keiran and the brothers bid Xin and Hikari farewell and made their way back to the heavenly cool of the common room, where they were bombarded with questions by Kiba. Luckily for Keiran, Yuki was more than happy to tell the full story, and so he pulled Saphira ('you smell like pecopeco') close and drowsed.


	13. Part 13: Mm alcohol

Sorry about the huge delay with this D: Exams and all…

Aaaand I apologise for the length.

Mm yaoi.

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

At 5pm he prised himself once more from Saphira's arms and began bouncing a ping pong ball off Blank's forehead to the steady chant of 'wake up, wake up, wake up'. Blank, who up until that point had been sleeping quite peacefully, punched Keiran in the stomach reflexively, rolled over and went back to sleep.

"You need to be more subtle." Match said, as Keiran doubled over groaning, and turned to Blank, saying in a gentle voice, "Blank, wake up."

"No... don't wanna..." Blank murmured into the couch cushion.

"Don't make me hit you."

Still asleep, he made a rude gesture. "Fuck you..."

Match sighed, straightened up, cracked his knuckles, rolled Blank onto his back... and slapped him extremely hard on both sides of his face.

The effect was immediate; Blank leapt from the couch and had Match pinned to the floor within a second, his fist drawn back over the boy's face. Match did nothing aside from raise an eyebrow.

Slowly, Blank relaxed and he levered himself up and back onto the couch.

"... Somehow, I think he would have punched my lights out if I'd tried that." said Keiran thoughtfully, watching Blank rub his face vigorously.

"Oh I don't know." Match said, getting to his feet. "Hurry up Blank, or Keiran and I will leave without you."

"No you fucking won't." Blank growled. "Where are we going?"

"To get supplies!" Keiran informed him happily. "For the party!"

Blank stared at him, his red eyes narrowed. "...Retard."

Keiran blinked. "Hm?"

"Don't you think that raiding the bloody pantry at 5pm, also known as dinner preparation time, is a bit fucking stupid?"

"We-ell, there will be more people around now, so more suspects. No one will suspect the little swordsmen!"

"Except when the little swordsmen don't damn well show up for breakfast the next day coz they all have fucking hangovers."

"... You coming Match?" said Keiran, turning away from the glowering Blank and heading for the door.

Match shrugged and followed him. There was a moment of silence, then a frustrated growl and Blank ran after them, catching up as they started to descend the stairs.

They walked in tense silence until Keiran couldn't take it anymore and fished around for a conversation topic.

"So, when are you guy's birthdays?"

"January 21st." Match said promptly. Blank said nothing.

"Blank?" Keiran prompted.

"16th of April."

"Oh no, I missed it! You should have said!" wailed Keiran.

"Why? So you could throw me a godforsaken party that I don't want?" Blank glared at him.

Pouting, Keiran fell back. "But I didn't get to give you a present or anything."

He shrugged. "I didn't need anything more than I already got."

"Huh..?"

Blank had sounded different, softer, and warmer perhaps, not to mention he hadn't sworn. Staring at the back of his head, Keiran couldn't see his expression, but he could easily see him reaching for Match's hand. Match for once didn't shake him off, stroking the back of Blank's hand with his thumb affectionately.

"... How long have you guys, you know, been together?" Keiran asked cautiously. When had the DB event been? It was in April, wasn't it..?

Blank snorted. "Don't pretend to be nice, moron. You're as anti-gay as the rest of these mother fuckers."

Keiran frowned. "You're wrong..." He hadn't thought of it from that point of view – that here in a religious guild, what Blank was was wrong, forbidden. No wonder he was mad all the time...

"Like hell I am." Blank growled, spinning to face Keiran, his face twisted. "I- we- have to keep our relationship in the shadows so we don't damage the pure eyes of those fuckers who can't accept that it's possible for- for two men to love each other – that we can be gay and still love God. That it's impossible for me and Match to feel for each other what you and Saphira feel."

Blank was an inch from his face now, one hand still in Match's, the other tangled in Keiran's shirt, stopping him from retreating under the intensity of his glare. Keiran stared up into his burning red eyes, stunned.

"And you- you can show them all how much you care – how much you love each other, while we can't so fucking much as _hold hands_ without some shit head making some smart-arse comment!" Blank shook him forcefully.

"Blank..." Match said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Blank looked from it to Match's face, then back to Keiran, and slowly let go, his face flat.

"... I was actually going to say that you were wrong, because I'm bi too..." Keiran said carefully, tugging his shirt back into place. "I'll admit though, I never really thought about how difficult it would be to have a same-sex relationship in the guild."

"Are you taking the piss?" Blank said coldly.

Keiran held up his hands defensively. "No, I assure you."

He gave him a calculating look, then spun on his heel and marched off.

"... Sorry about that." Match said apologetically when Blank was out of hearing range. "I think he just wanted to get it off his chest... It's been bothering him for a while."

"I didn't mean to insult him." Keiran said bemusedly. "I was genuinely curious when I asked how long you've been together."

Match smiled. "I know, I could see your mind ticking over."

"The DB event was on Blank's birthday, wasn't it..?"

"Yes it was."

"Ah." There were so many questions Keiran wanted to ask: what made them do it? Was Match gay or bi? And had he always been that way, or just since Blank had come onto him? ... If Blank had come onto him that is... But Match had always been the conservative type and he doubted very much he'd get straight answers, if any at all. And so they continued down the stairs in silence, Keiran wondering all the while about Match. Out of all the guys, he knew least about him, or so he thought. All he had managed to work out was that Match was very intelligent, studious, and quiet, with a great fondness for sticking to the rules... So long as they were written down. For instance, he had no objection to stealing from the pantry, because no one had actually told them they _couldn't._

Blank was waiting for them at the base of the stairs, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Take your time, fucker."

_Oh, so we're pretending that never happened... Fine by me. _"You mean fucker_s."_

"No, I mean fucker. Singular." Blank fell into place beside Match as they passed, snaking his hand into his again.

"Now that's not very nice – what did Match ever do to you to deserve that?"

"Hit him for me." Blank said to Match.

Keiran didn't move fast enough and Match's hand caught him over the back of the head, he laughed it off lightly – after all he did bring it upon himself.

Match chuckled, but it was cut off short as he glanced over his shoulder. Keiran was sharply tugged off to one side, and Blank hissed in his ear, "bow, you idiot."

"Eh?" Keiran glanced around – and squarely met the narrow black eyes of Lord Ishikawa as he emerged from one of the meeting rooms. Quickly he threw himself into a bow, as Match said quite politely, "Good afternoon, my Lord."

"And you." Lord Ishikawa replied, stepping out of the doorway and gesturing that the Paladins that were peering curiously around him to see what the hold up was should pass. Most bowed deeply and excused themselves, but some, none of whom Keiran had ever seen before and looked old enough to be his dad, stayed behind, standing patiently waiting for their Lord.

Keiran's neck was starting to seize up from staying bowed for so long… Should he straighten? Lord Ishikawa hadn't said to, but he hadn't said not to either... What were Match and Blank doing? He glanced sideways. They too were both still bowed.

"… Where are your uniforms?" Lord Ishikawa asked, his voice cool.

Keiran's heart sank. _Oh shit…_ All three of them were wearing jeans and shirts, worn casually and they all had bare feet.

_Luckily _they had Match with them;

"My Lord, forgive us. We were taking a break from our training and thought it prudent to change."

Lord Ishikawa was silent for a while, but Keiran could feel his eyes burning a hole in the top of his head. "…Very well. You _did_ all train hard today. You may raise your heads."

The boys straightened thankfully, but Keiran kept his gaze fixed on Lord Ishikawa's feet. They, like the rest of him, were armoured in gold, and decorated with lethal looking spikes… How he rode a peco peco without stabbing the poor thing was a mystery…

"I'd like to see you all in full uniform at dinner though, please," the Paladin continued.

"Yes, my Lord." Match said, bowing. Blank and Keiran followed suit.

Lord Ishikawa scrutinized them for a minute more before nodding and turning to his retinue, indicating they should precede him down the hallway.

Blank waited until Lord Ishikawa was well out of sight before bursting into a fit of swearing so colourful that Keiran didn't know what half of the words meant, and made rude gestures down the corridor after him as Match tried to quiet him, but to no avail. "Fucking cock thinks he's so high and mighty, full uniform my ass – it's 35 bloody degrees! Just coz he's a freak and doesn't notice, doesn't mean the rest of us should have to suffer- did you see his bodyguards? They're all sweating so much you can see their fucking armour rusting- and the blind old geezer doesn't give a toss!"

By this stage Keiran was wishing he could melt into the wall so he couldn't be accused of being in cahoots with this treasonous swordsman, but as the wall proved very solid, he joined Match in trying to quiet him with much frantic hand waving and shh'ing, glancing around nervously for fear of someone hearing him and dragging them off to the gallows or wherever.

"No, he just keeps on strolling around with his sword up his arse like he owns the world expecting people to get out of his bloody way like he's the King himself!"

"Match-" Keiran started; there was a Paladin in the hallway, looking very startled at the noise, but not angry – yet.

"I know- I see him." Match said in a panic. "Blank- please!"

"I don't blame Darius for hating his high-and-mighty guts if-"

The rest of his sentence was lost in Match's mouth, as, in his desperation, he'd seized Blank around the face and kissed him, very forcefully – so forcefully in fact that Blank hit the wall behind him with a rather painful sounding crack.

Keiran stared, and so did the Paladin down the hall.

Blank's expression changed from one of rage, to surprise, to fierce delight, then to hunger, and in one easy move had switched positions with Match, slamming him against the stone wall so hard he gasped before kissing him intensely, his hands tangled in Match's hair.

Trying to sort out his emotions (_two guys making out is _not_ hot!)_, Keiran took Blank by the shoulder, saying, "… I hate to break this up, guys, but-"

Blank swung around, his eyes dilated and wild, and by happy chance Keiran caught his fist an inch before it connected with his face.

"What do you want?" he hissed.

"You have an audience…" Keiran said weakly, nodding over Blank's shoulder.

Blank narrowed his eyes, but chanced a look over his shoulder to see the small mob of spectators staring in their direction. "… fuck."

Match, still standing against the wall wearing a mallet whacked expression, suddenly sprang forward, seized both Blank and Keiran by the arm and dragged them into the nearest room, slamming the door behind them.

"Holy shit, are you _trying _to get us in trouble?" Match asked, slouching against the wall looking completely drained.

"I was only telling it as it is." Blank said with a careless shrug.

"You can't just go yelling whatever you feel like about the leader of the Guild of Crusaders in his corridors, how ever much of an arrogant prick he may be!"

"It's only what the retard deserves."

"Jesus Christ, Blank! He'll have you thrown out so fast you won't even realise until it's too late!"

Blank shrugged again. "Then so be it. I'll go join the fucking knight's guild instead – at least they're not anti-gay."

"Lord Ishikawa is anti-gay?" Keiran asked, bewildered. Blank and Match both looked at him as if they had just remember he was there. "How do you know?"

"..." Match said, "he caught us, um, in the library, straight after class..."

"It's not like we were even doing anything, stupid fag..." Blank looked positively livid.

"He blew up. Yelled at us about how impure we were for ages. I thought he'd never stop."

"He didn't seem pissed before..." Keiran said thoughtfully.

"Of course not – he had all his fucking cronies with him, didn't he just?" Blank snorted. "Can't let them know he's a whack-job."

"I'd watch where you tread if I were you, Keiran."

"What? Me? Why?" Keiran asked, confused.

"You're Darius' roommate and his partner in class – he's going to be watching you very closely," said Match softly.

"Gotta make sure you don't taint his perfect little heir, doesn't he, the fucktard..."

"I'd be sure to keep the fact you're bi hidden as well."

"Yeah, he'll think you're into Darius. And by into, I mean _into." _Blank smiled, very unpleasantly.

"I'm not into Darius!" Keiran said, possibly too quickly.

Match smiled kindly "Maybe not, but that's how he'll see it if he knows you're bi."

"Coz he's a dick." Blank added, in case Keiran had missed it the first few times.

He stared at them. They were making it sound like Lord Ishikawa was there just to subject Keiran to some sort of interrogation. He personally hadn't seen anything from the Lord to warrant such hate; sure he wasn't the kindest person, but he wasn't flat out cruel either - Keiran had come to the conclusion Lord Ishikawa had only taken the top of his knuckles off because Keiran had been dangerously close to breaking his jaw, which was fair enough – can't have swordsmen raising above their station.

He'd have to look into this... while keeping a low profile.

"Maybe this party isn't a good idea if _he's _still around..." Match said.

"Are you (fucking) kidding!" Keiran and Blank both yelled in his face.

Match raised an eyebrow, holding up his hands in defeat. "Alright, the party goes ahead."

"Time to get supplies then! ...Where are we, by the way?" Keiran asked, looking around the room – it had a rather large table surrounded by squishy looking chairs, but other than that there was nothing.

"It's another meeting room. Handily, it joins right onto the kitchens." Match informed him, gesturing to a door near the far wall. "I don't think they use this one much, because it's not very big..."

Blank's hand within his own again, Match led them through the door and down a short, dark hallway into the kitchens.

They were very busy with dinner preparations well underway, and it looked like the cooks were working even harder than usual – presumably to make a meal fit for a Lord. Keiran always wondered about the cooks; were they crusaders, or were they employed by the guild...? Or both? One day he might find out... But until then!

They slipped into the spacious pantry unnoticed, and with Match on lookout, Keiran and Blank seized a banana box each and started loading as much alcohol as they could find into them, using bags of potato chips and lollies as padding to stop them clanking. Blank proved that he was in fact the son of a rogue and picked the lock of a particularly promising looking chest to reveal hundreds of tiny glass bottles full of – Keiran pulled a cork out and sniffed at it – pure alcohol, which were stuffed into any gaps they could find as Blank clicked the padlock expertly back into place with a smirk. It was amazing how much your parent's job could affect you... Keiran's father being a Creator, he felt, gave him his preference for straight alcohol... Or then again maybe it was just him. He made a mental note to ask the others what their parents did and, with the Guild's alcohol supply looking severely depleted, they made their exit.

By pure luck they managed to return to the common room undetected, despite having to stop occasionally for Blank and Keiran to catch their breath – the boxes were heavy and they had rather a long way to walk, not to mention a load of stairs to climb. Match would hover by them uncertainly, glancing in every direction until they were ready to continue when he'd dart ahead to check if the coast was clear.

"Shit, just how much do you plan on drinking?" Kiba asked as they finally fell into the common room, staring in wonder and admiration at the very full boxes the boys brought with them.

"Better too much than too little, huh?" Chris said with a grin, coming to investigate.

Keiran slapped his wrist with a bar of chocolate as he reached for a bottle of rum. "Leave it." Rubbing his smarting hand, Chris stalked off to rejoin Shiz. "Yuki and stuff still not back?" Keiran asked, throwing himself onto the couch beside Saphira. Over an hour ago, Yuki had complained that he needed to pee and could someone please show him where the bathroom was? Chakii had volunteered immediately, and joined by Natalie and Chaku, they had left. And not come back.

"Nope, haven't seen 'em since." Kiba said, sprawled on his belly on the floor with a magazine open in front of him.

"They're probably showing him around or something," said Saphira, who Keiran had quickly claimed as a pillow and was resting his head in her lap. She was idly playing with his hair, ruffling his fringe, then flattening it.

"Yeah probably..." Keiran gazed around at everyone, still lacking in energy and motivation in the heat. Darius didn't appear to have moved at all since they had left and was still on his couch by the window, reading his book. Astarte was lying on the floor nearby, seemingly asleep. Yule was gone too now, and Kiba informed him later she was having a shower. At the table, Arthur dozed, his head in his arms, using a stack of textbooks as a pillow.

"They're making me sleepy." he complained, yawning and squishing Saphira's leg into a more comfortable position. She may say she had fat thighs, but they made darn good pillows...

"You can't go to sleep now." Saphira said softly, stroking his hair back. "We have dinner in 20 minutes."

"Oh yeah... And we have to get changed back into our uniforms for it..."

"We do?"

"Yeah, ran into Lord Ishikawa on the way."

Darius' turned his head slightly in their direction, listening.

"No offence Darius, but your dad's a _dick_." Blank said, and having just finished unpacking the boxes, flopped down beside Match on their couch, an arm draped around his shoulders.

Darius shrugged. "I suppose I should have warned you he likes everything to be tidy. Strolling down to raid the pantry in your holey jeans probably wasn't the smartest move."

"Thanks for that. Real helpful _now." _Keiran rolled his eyes. "I guess we were lucky he caught us _before _and not _after."_

"I'd say." Match muttered, possibly thinking about Blank's reaction to being yelled at while he was holding a box full of glass bottles... Not pretty.

"So what's this about uniforms?" Saphira prompted.

"He let us off with the jeans coz we 'trained hard', but said he wanted to see us in full uniform at dinner."

"But it's like 40 degrees!" Kiba protested.

"If you want to test his patience, then go ahead. But I wouldn't recommend it," said Darius, placing his bookmark carefully between the pages of his novel and standing, tucking it safely under one arm.

"... Where are you going?" Keiran asked, watching him cross the room.

"Shower."

Keiran hastily untangled himself from Saphira and gave her a kiss, before darting after him. "Wait for me!"

Behind him, Kiba snorted. "Saph, don't you ever get worried that Keiran has an unhealthy obsession with accompanying Darius to the showers and the toilet?"

Half-way out the door, he didn't hear her reply, but when he glanced back she was gazing at him with a smile on her face. He blew her a kiss, which she caught, and mouthed 'I love you', then turned and walked straight into Darius.

"Ouch, we have to stop meeting like this," he said.

Darius raised an eyebrow. "You should try watching where you're going."

"No. _You _should stop standing behind me when I'm not paying attention."

With a shrug he turned and headed for their room.

"Oh, do you want your present now?" Keiran asked, suddenly remembering as he jogged after him.

"No."

"When do you want it, then?"

"Never."

"But I bought it – it would be a waste not to give it to you."

"Did you keep the receipt? Take it back." Darius' expression was very flat.

"No!"

"You should always keep the receipts for gifts, Keiran, it's common sense."

"No you fool! Of course I kept the receipt! I didn't know if they'd- I mean... Um."

Darius raised his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" Keiran shouted, pushing past him into their room and after a moment of staring blankly at the wall, started fishing around under the bed.

"Oh yes, great hiding place – I'd _never _have considered looking under the bed." said Darius.

"... Was that sarcasm?" Keiran seized something that looked about the right size. Nope, that was just some pyjama pants that he'd ripped... Ah was that it...? He reached out, but it was just out of grasp, wedged behind a pair of boots Keiran's mum had bought him but he'd never worn because they were a size too small...

"_Yes, _Keiran." Darius sighed.

"Nnnngghh-HAH!" Keiran exclaimed, catching the edge of the wrapping paper on his finger and managing to tug it free before the strain became too much. "Got it! I didn't know you'd been searching for it."

"I hadn't."

"Well, take it, then!" Keiran said, stuffed the metallic green package into his hands. And as he unwrapped it with a dramatic sigh, Keiran riffled through his bedside table for the second present, which was wrapped in bright yellow with one of those squishy bow things on top. Keiran failed at wrapping, he knew, and so had asked the shop keepers to wrap the gifts for him and so he hadn't had much choice with colours – if he'd had his way they would have been wrapped in hot pink. Anything to get a reaction out of Darius.

When Keiran turned around Darius was looking at his present with a very surprised expression. "I didn't realise you paid attention to me and Astarte's conversations. I'm impressed."

Keiran blinked. "Huh? Why?"

Darius held up the book Keiran had given him. Keiran stared at the cover blankly. It meant nothing to him – he'd just asked the bookstore girl if there were any new fantasy/romance books out that she'd recommend as a birthday present, and she'd gone on and on about this book, Keiran staring over her head and making appropriate noises until she had stopped, and he had bought it. The end.

"I see..." Keiran said blankly.

Darius chuckled and shook his head. "I should have known. Either way, thank you very much. I was just telling Astarte the other day that I was going to have to buy this one myself when it came out."

"Ohh... Oh good." Keiran held out the other present.

"... What's that for?" Darius eyed it up apprehensively – there was a grin spreading across Keiran's face that wasn't to be trusted.

"You?"

"But you already gave me one."

"I know. I got you two."

"Why?"

"I got you that one." He nodded at the book, now lying on Darius' bed. "Then I saw these and I thought of you and just _had _to get them for you."

"'Them'?"

"Just open it." Keiran said, stuffing the second present into his hands.

Darius squished it in his hands experimentally, then looked at Keiran despairingly. "Clothes?"

"Open it, open it!"

"Gah." Darius picked the present open slowly, obviously bracing himself what whatever horrors lay waiting inside, Keiran bouncing on the edge of his bed grinning stupidly.

"... underwear." said Darius carefully, his tone flat as he held up a pair. "Wow. Thanks Keiran..."

"But not just any underwear!" Keiran exclaimed. "Check the tags!"

He did so. "... Kafra. You bought me _designer underwear?_" Darius groaned, flipping the tag over. "These must have cost a fortune."

"Anything to make you more appealing to the ladies" he replied easily, laying all seven pairs out for Darius to see better. "There's nothing worse than sitting behind someone you have a crush on and they lean forward and BAH, they have Jellopy brand undies." He sniggered.

"... No one has a crush on me, so it doesn't matter, but thanks for the concern..."

Keiran whistled and looked to the roof. "Oh you'd be surprised."

Darius ignored this statement. "...How did you know my size?"

"Oh did I get it right?" Keiran raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Lucky guess?"

"That's a lie and a half. Didn't I tell you already you're a horrible liar?"

"No?"

"You're a horrible liar." Darius said, now frowning. "How did you know?"

"... I'd rather not say." Keiran carefully fixed his eyes on the far wall.

Darius shifted to stand in front of him, his face horrified. "You went through my _underwear?_"

"Only the clean stuff!" He held up his hands defensively – Darius had seized a pillow in his hands, his face flushed. "Thank God you don't cut the labels off is all I can say."

"Keiran-!" Darius said, then sighed and let the pillow drop to the floor. "Oh I give up. I don't even know what to do with you anymore."

"Feed me, love me, pat me occasionally – it's all I need." Keiran said breezily, remembering Kiba's puppy comment at lunch.

Darius sighed again.

"Was blue the wrong colour..?" he asked cautiously. "Wrong style? Would you have preferred briefs?"

"No, blue is fine. They're fine, thank you." Darius said quickly. "I was just thinking – it would be interesting to spend a day in your head. I really don't know what you're thinking when you do things like this."

"I was thinking you needed decent undies." Keiran quirked an eyebrow. "Obviously."

Smiling, Darius folded his new underwear and put them in his top drawer.

"You should really wash them before you wear them."

"Yes, yes I know." said Darius, fishing out a clean tunic and pants.

Keiran examined his own uniform that he'd biffed into the corner after their lesson. It looked like he'd have to wear clean clothes too - it smelt terrible and had splatters of blood on it from his knuckles. "Bah."

He was then hit in the head by something, which stuck. He tugged it off – it was a tunic, a clean one by the smell of it.

"That's your last one. We'll have to have a laundry day tomorrow." Darius said, tossing him some clean pants too as he headed for the door

"Unless it rains."

Darius snorted, and was gone.

When they came back to their room after showering, there was a stack of letters on Darius' bed, at which Darius sighed and sat down to open them.

"Do we have time for this?" Keiran asked, glancing at their pocket-watch/clock.

"Yes. It won't take long."

Most of them were from extended family members, wishing him a formal happy birthday. They made Keiran yawn. Some came with money, others vouchers, other nothing at all.

The very bottom envelope was what Keiran was interested in – it was thicker than the others, and as it was laying face down the sender was showing, written in rather scribbly but somehow still perfectly legible handwriting: _Alexander Macedon, Guild of Knights, 37 Clay Road, Izlude._

Bouncing impatiently as Darius set aside the last of his cards, that one from his great auntie, Keiran forced Alex's letter into his hands. "Read it aloud."

"Alright." Darius said amusedly, opening it with care. He cleared his throat, and smoothed out the pages, eyes flicking across them quickly before reading:

"_'Dear Darius, _

_ Actually no, screw formalities. YO! How're you doing? Long time, no see! Sorry we haven't been able to come visit yet - Dad's being super paranoid about the murders and all... _

_Anyway. Happy birthday, dude! Dad told me when it was on the 5th, so here's hoping this reaches you on the right day... We didn't know if you wanted a present but everyone insisted you should get something so enclosed are a whole pile of vouchers so you can go wild._

_Keiran mate, if you're reading this, let us know when your birthday is too! And your other friends, so we can send you stuff. You know you want to. By the way, Dad found out it was you that wasted all the hot water – he was really mad, but only cos he smelled bad, so don't fret. _

_I swear to god I didn't tell him._

_How're things going with that paladin who thinks you're his god?_

_Oh good news! I was eavesdropping on a convo Dad was having with some old dudes the other day – they were saying something about having a joint training trip with you guys some time in September..? That's ages away though, so yeah... Maybe I should sneak out and come visit... I might get eaten by a rabid desert wolf puppy or something, so maybe not._

_I hear you guys have a crusader selection exam in July? Lucky. We have to wait til December for ours. Good luck with those. Cain was saying that no one ever passes them..? Then why do they have them?_

_Urm. That's all I can think of to say... But the others want to write some stuff so I'll hand you over to them._

_Take care,_

_ Alex_

_P.S. write back, damnit.'_"

Darius finished with a flourish, chuckling as his eyes skimmed down the rest of the page.

"What's funny?" Keiran asked curiously. Darius shook his head and passed the page over.

Beneath Alex's scribble of a signature were little notes from each of the other swordsmen. They were all quite amusing, but none as much as Bahaa's:

'hi hppy bday sexy' with Bahaa's name written beside it in Alex's handwriting.

Keiran laughed. "Is he ever going to learn, or do you have to show him?"

"Who knows?" Darius shrugged, glancing at the clock. "Come on, we should go. I apologise in advance for my attitude during dinner."

Oh right, Lord Ishikawa was going to be present... "Alright. I'll try not to give you away."

Darius smiled apologetically and lead the way down to the hall.

The closer they got, the more older Paladins they saw, and the more it became obvious that Darius had fixed his mask in place – his usually casual stroll became something of a strut with his head held high and his back straight. Feeling intimidated despite knowing it was all an act, Keiran dropped back to walk just behind and to the right of him and gave up trying to start pointless conversations.

Darius marched into the hall and went straight to his usual place without a glance at his father, who was sitting at the head of one of the tables where Kuronosu usually sat. Keiran took his seat between Saphira and Darius, taking care to show Darius the respect an arrogant Lordling would usually demand, before pecking Saphira on the cheek. She looked a little disappointed by the greeting, and Keiran leaned over to whisper: "I'm not sure Lord Ishikawa would take us making out at the dinner table very well."

"Oh..." she breathed back, glancing down the table at the Paladin.

Lord Ishikawa and his entourage took up a good quarter of the long table. Most of them were older male Paladins, but there were one or two females scattered in their midst. Was he sexist too? The Paladins that usually occupied that part of the table had been shunted down, and didn't look happy at all, casting glares up at them at regular intervals.

There was a different feel to the room today – people were still talking, but it wasn't with the excitement and bursts of laughter, it was the polite speech of people saying what needed to be said and nothing more. Even Yuki, when he finally arrived with his caregivers, sat down quietly without saying more than good afternoon to the swordsmen.

And no one was touching the food. Normally there would be a few people who would sneak in a few mouthfuls before Kuronosu said grace, but today no one touched so much as a pea.

Then Lord Ishikawa stood up. Silence fell immediately and every face turned to look at him.

"Good afternoon. It's good to see you all again." He smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. "I apologise I have been absent for so long, and I'm very sorry to say my visit will be regrettably short as I am required elsewhere at the end of the week. But have no fear – I am still keeping a careful eye on the Guild's affairs. As Kuronosu is doing a most admirable job, I have no qualms with leaving you all in his capable hands once again." He nodded politely to Kuronosu, who bowed his head.

"I have some good news for you, however!" Lord Ishikawa continued. "From what I have observed today, I think you all deserve a reward for your hard work; and as such, I am officially removing the ban on pets within the castle grounds."

An excited chatter broke out. _There was a ban on pets? _Keiran thought to himself. He had just presumed that it was too much effort to keep one, or no one wanted to.

Lord Ishikawa clapped once, and silence returned. "Of course, there are rules that must be abided by. One: your pet is your own responsibility – _you must _feed it, care for it and clean up after it. Two: do not let it out of your sight – if your pet is found wandering the castle by itself, it will be seen as a monster and taken care of as such. Three: _Relationships_ with human-form pets or otherwise, in any way, shape or form, are strictly forbidden." There was something about the way he said 'relationships' that made it clear he wasn't talking about your normal pet-owner relationships. "Breaking these rules will result in the pet's destruction, and the owner issued with an official guild warning. I will be keeping an eye on things while I'm here, and so long as there have been no problems, the ban will stay lifted." Lord Ishikawa said, studying his guild carefully. "Now let us give thanks for this meal."

Keiran and the others bowed their heads and prayed, stomachs rumbling as the smell of the food floated around them. And then, finally, Lord Ishikawa started helping himself to pork chops and the meal began.

"Darius?" Keiran said, not sure if he would reply.

"Yes?" Darius' voice was nowhere near as hard as his expression, but then, over the dinner noise, Lord Ishikawa would have to have super-hearing to be able to tell what was being said.

"Why was there a ban on pets?"

Darius scowled at him. "Not that you really need to know, but the ban was put in place three years ago after someone's pet zealotus went mad - tied her owner up and tortured him."

Keiran gaped. One of those blue haired dominatrix..? "What did he do to deserve that?"

"He refused to sleep with her, apparently." Was the cool reply.

"Sleep with-? As in _sex? _But it's a monster!"

"Why do you think he turned her down?" Darius said, turning away from him and beginning his meal – which Keiran noticed was rather more substantial than usual.

"Wow."

Saphira poked his arm to get his attention. "Will you get one?"

"A zealotus? After that story? And you didn't see what the one we saw had done to her slaves... Urgh" Keiran shuddered.

"No dummy, I meant any pet in general."

"Oh. ... no?" he said, then smiled cheekily. "I don't need a pet – I have you!"

She laughed. "So I'm nothing more than a fluffy bunny to you?"

"Of course not!" Keiran feigned hurt. "You're _much _cuter than a lunatic. And, I couldn't kiss a lunatic." He bent to do so, but she caught him by the chin.

"Lord Ishikawa, remember?"

"Oooh... right."

"Just shut up and eat your dinner," said Darius icily, accompanied with a nasty look.

Hurt, Saphira gaped at him, Keiran squeezed her leg and shot her an I'll-explain-later smile before setting into his meal. Saphira looked like she was going to say something, but Darius shot her another scowl and she quickly followed Keiran's example.

The rest of dinner went by fairly quietly, with most people leaving as soon as they had finished eating instead of hanging around to chat for hours like they usually would, possibly reluctant to start up any conversation that might not be appreciated if it reached Lord Ishikawa's ears. So for the majority it was dinner and an early night! Except for the swordsmen, who after saying goodnight to a sulky Yuki, who said he had to share a room with one of the Paladin's further up the castle, eagerly left the table (handily it was the Crusaders turn on dishes, so they didn't have to worry) and dashed up to get changed _again, _then it was off to the common room to claim the best drinks. Some kind soul had found a load of buckets and filled them with cold water to keep the alcohol cool. How thoughtful.

Keiran sprawled out on the couch again with a happy sigh, a bourbon and coke in one hand, and his girl on the other – just the way he liked it.

"Isn't it a little early to start drinking?" Kiba asked, checking the time – it was 7.

"It's never too early to start drinking" said Astarte, taking one of the small bottles and sculling it down easily. She put the empty bottle back on the table, and smirked.

"Is that a challenge?"

"It is now. Can you do it? Or am I manlier than you?"

Kiba's eyes narrowed and he seized a bottle. Still glaring at her defiantly, he drank the whole thing and slammed the bottle down. He blinked, and swayed, and staggered off to fall on a couch.

"What a let down." Astarte said with a grin. "No alcohol tolerance at all." She turned to the room at large. "Anyone else want to defend their ego?"

"Hey, hey, guys!" Keiran said as Chris and Shiz stepped forward to take up the challenge. "Wait a sec. This is Darius' birthday, remember?"

Darius glanced up from where he was apologizing to Saphira.

"We at least need to toast to him, right?" Keiran tipped his head and raised his glass. "To Darius! May he live many more years!"

There was a murmur of approval and everyone raised their glasses or bottles, or whatever they'd found. "To Darius."

Looking very flustered, Darius spluttered a thank you and said something about an early night.

"I don't think so." Keiran said, grabbing the back of his shirt as he passed. "No one is going anywhere – least of all the birthday boy."

"But-"

"No buts. Sit your arse down and have a drink."

On cue, Blank tossed Keiran a bottle, which he caught expertly, opened and handed to Darius.

"… Thank you" said Darius weakly, sitting down on Keiran's other side.

"I'd appreciate it if you could not pour that on my shirt tonight." Keiran added to him, opening a KGB for Saphira.

Then he did a quick mental roll check to make sure no one had snuck away. Match and Blank were on their couch, sharing a large bottle of beer between them; over by the stereo was Natalie, who was trying to find Keiran's CD again, _God bless her_; Chakii and Yule were persuading Chaku to try a bit of their sparkling wine, and it looked like they might be succeeding; cackling madly, Astarte pounded Shiz between the shoulder blades as he choked on a mouthful of the straight alcohol and Chris rocked gently in the background, his eyes watering; Arthur was reading the labels of all the bottles on the table; and Kiba had recovered enough to get himself something a little weaker before face planting on the couch again.

All was well.

"KEIRAN!" Astarte yelled.

"Astarte!" he yelled back.

"Are _you_ a man!"

"Yes, I most certainly am."

Astarte stalked around to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. "Then prove it."

Keiran raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Saph would like that very much."

"I wasn't meaning that, moron." Astarte said as Saphira giggled. "I meant can you hold your liquor like a man?"

"I think I can."

"_Prove_ _it_." Astarte hissed, thrusting a tiny flask into his chest.

Keiran took it and examined it, then looked up at Astarte, who was tapping her foot impatiently. "Only one?"

"Drink that one first. If you make it through round one, _then_ you can have another."

"Alright." Keiran tugged the cork out and threw the drink back, relishing in the warmth as it ran down his throat, and handed the bottle back to Astarte without so much as a hiccup.

"Impressive." Astarte nodded, "well done. You advance to the next round. CHRIS, bring us some more alcohol!"

Chris muttered something under his breath but did as he was asked. On Saphira's count of three, Keiran and Astarte sculled their second flasks. This time it went straight to Keiran's head and he blinked slowly a few times at Astarte, who blinked back.

"Ha ha ha," she said.

"…" said Darius, and shuffled along the couch to make room for her as she staggered over.

"… You need to drink more," she observed, poking his bottle which was nearly full.

"Oh, sorry."

"We should play a drinking game!" Arthur exclaimed.

Keiran somehow fell off the couch. "Did I just hear that right? Did I just hear _Arthur_ suggest we play a drinking game?"

Saphira laughed and tugged him back up. "Yes you did."

"Did you have anything in mind, oh surprising one?" Keiran asked over the back of the couch.

"Dirty pint." Arthur brandished a large empty glass in one hand.

Keiran slipped back down beside Saphira. "Oh, that."

"What is it?"

"Really simple. You toss a coin and call it. If you're right, you add some of your drink to the communal glass and pass it on to the person on your right to toss for. And if you're wrong, you drink it."

Saphira wrinkled her nose. "Sounds gross."

"Gross, maybe, but very simple and it gets you drunk fast." Kiba said into a cushion. "I'm up."

"Me too!" yelled Natalie, finally finding some music and setting it at a respectable level so as not to attract unwanted attention from people passing in the hallway.

In the end they all seated themselves in a circle on the rug, having shoved the couches out of the way. Keiran tossed a coin in his hand idly as Kiba re-explained the rules for anyone that missed them the first time.

"Who's starting?" Chakii said, her arm linked through Chaku's to stop her running away. Although the girl's mouthfuls of wine were getting bigger with each one so maybe they wouldn't have to force her to stay for much longer...

"Since Keiran's donating the coin, he should." Arthur said, placing the jug carefully in front of him.

"Fine by me." Keiran said. "Heads."

It was heads, and with a grin Keiran poured a small amount of his bourbon into the glass and passed both it and the coin on to Saphira, who called tails. She too guessed right, and added rather a lot of her pineapple RTD to Keiran's bourbon. The result was less than pleasant to look at.

"Tails!" Astarte said, and growled – the King's face was looking serenely up at her from the coin. With as much dignity as she could she took the glass of amber liquid and forced it all down. "Good God that tastes foul."

She pulled a face, tipped some of her drink in, and passed it on to Arthur, who added some mudshake, Chris contributed some rum, and Shiz poured in half a bottle of lime vodka.

"... Tails." said Darius, casting a very apprehensive glance at the charming mix, and flipped the coin.

There was a roar of laughter mixed with groans as the king showed his face once more. With everyone egging him on, Darius very reluctantly picked up the glass and stared into its murky depths.

"Hold your nose – it helps." Keiran called helpfully.

"I'd much rather not drink it at all." he muttered in reply, trying to set it down, only to find it forced back into his hands.

"If you don't drink it willingly, we'll have to force it down you." Kiba shrugged. It was his turn next and he was looking mighty relieved that he didn't have to drink it himself.

Darius gazed at the glass pensively for another minute of so, while everyone yelled at him to hurry up, then carefully blocked his nose and took a mouthful.

"SCULL it you pansy!" Blank yelled.

Darius' let his nose go to breathe, and his face twisted most amusingly.

"Tastes good?" Shiz grinned.

"Like vomit." Darius said faintly, eyeing up the rest of the mix with watering eyes; there was really quite a lot of it.

"That's why you scull it." Chris contributed wisely.

"I can't-"

"Yeah you can."

Darius held up his hands defensively. "No really, we have class tomorrow-"

"Shut up and drink it!" Kiba exclaimed, thrusting the glass back into his hands, sending greenish brown droplets flying everywhere in their bid for freedom. "If you say you can't again, or take longer than 2 minutes, I'm gonna force it down your throat."

_Wow Kiba's an angry drunk_, Keiran thought thickly, feeling increasingly more sorry for Darius.

Waving Kiba away, Darius raised the glass again. "Alright, alright..."

To a steady chant of 'scull, scull, scull' Darius somehow managed to swallow the whole glassful and set the empty jug back on the floor. Everyone stared at his blank face anxiously, waiting for some reaction.

Then he gagged, and everyone leaned out of the way.

"He's gonna puke." Chakii giggled.

"No..." Darius said, his expression changing rapidly between disgust, nausea, horror, and then fixed in a giddy smile. "No, I'm okay." He hiccupped, and giggled.

A cheer went up and they all clapped wildly, and the game continued.

By the time Keiran was so drunk he couldn't flip the coin properly ('it just keeps falling out of my hand!') sometime during round four, everyone but Chaku had had at least one turn to drink something awful. Keiran himself had drunk a full jug of raspberry vodka / wine / whisky and a little bit of someone's peppermint liqueur – it could have been worse. Chaku had been very lucky and called right when she tossed nearly every time, all but for once, and the glass had emptied by the previous person so she didn't have to drink anything foul. _Lucky. _She was however, still very drunk and was leaning against Astarte's legs, giggling at regular intervals.

"Letssss play ssspin the bottle!" she yelled, brandishing her bottle and almost knocking Astarte's out of her hand. Those who were listening agreed drunkenly, shuffling back into the circle which had slowly dispersed as people could no longer sit upright and had to go lean on things.

Keiran and Saphira had compromised and were leaning on each other. She was not helping Keiran keep his promise to himself; trailing her free hand lazily up and down his chest, fiddling with his belt absently and just generally being very enticing – she'd stare at him until he looked back, then would smile slyly and start giggling, falling over sideways. Occasionally she'd fall the other way and end up in Darius' lap; he was at Keiran's other side, smiling vaguely and plucking at a thread on Keiran's jeans.

With one arm him and one around Saph, Keiran was attracting no shortage of smart comments from everyone, but none so much as from Blank, the latter was alternating between drinking from a bottle of rum and making out with Match, who seemed very eager to comply – even to the point that he'd take the bottle out of Blank's hand to make him turn his attention back to him.

"Spin the bottle~~" Astarte sang croakily, ushering people into a more circular circle on the rug. She was being very well behaved today and had done no more to Darius than play with his hair, commenting on how much nicer it was than hers.

"Spin it- spiiiiiiiin!" Natalie wailed, flinging herself down between Chakii and Chris, who eyed her up suggestively – she didn't notice.

"Wait wait!" Keiran protested, waving Darius' arm. "We need... rules!"

"Spin the bottle has rules?" Darius muttered, watching his arm wave around all by itself.

"If there are people in re-la-tion-ships, yesss. And me and Saph are a thing, an- an- Match and Blank are a thing."

"You're not playing?" Yule asked looking rather down.

"Um." Keiran said. "'pends on if Saph will let me...?"

Blank intervened, letting Match breathe. "There's another way to play it – we need an ffff-ing dice though."

One was hastily found and placed in the middle of the circle beside an empty beer bottle.

"So what you do is you roll the dice, an' the number it lands on err... re- represents the ... whatsit... intensity of the kiss." Blank said, very slowly. "6 is a peck on the cheek; 5, the lips; all the way to 1 which is like mega making out." He demonstrated a number 1 roll with Match.

"Ooooooh." said Keiran, "I ge' it. So- so... I could like, say I don't want Saph kissing anyone else above like, a little kiss, which is what? 3?"

"Eggs-act-ly." Blank said. "You can fuckin', add a dink- drinking assspect too, and the weaker the kiss – the more you have to drink. By the way, don't want any of you fffuckers kissing Match above a 4."

"What happens if you roll something higher?" Yule asked.

Blank shrugged. "Roll again 'til you get a low one."

"I don't want any girls to kiss Keiran above 3 either." Saphira contributed, watching Yule carefully.

"What about guys?"

"He can kiss guys if he wants." Was the easy reply. Blank sniggered and whispered something to Match, who snorted his drink everywhere.

Keiran ignored them. "Spiiiin the bottle to see who goes first!"

Chakii obliged and they watched the bottle slow with trepidation, finally stopping pointing to-

"Chris, you're up!"

Chris dragged himself upright, his eyebrows raised. "oh?"

"You're first, jackass." Blank said.

"Oh..." He cast his eyes around the circle. "There's more guys than girls. 's'not fair."

"Oh shut the fuck up and spin it" said Kiba boredly, opening another drink for himself.

Chris shrugged and tossed the dice, which landed on 6, and then gave the bottle a spin.

"Peck on the cheek for Chakii~" Shiz commentated.

Chakii narrowed her eyes, but allowed Chris the kiss her without so much as blinking. Chris returned to his seat to drink his six mouthfuls of beer and Chaku tossed the dice and spun the bottle at the same time. A 4 for Natalie.

The guys whistled and Chakii shot them all a dirty look.

"What's a 4?"

"Just a kiss with a bit of tongue."

Natalie raised an eyebrow but was much too drunk to protest as Chakii kissed her full on the lips.

Keiran gaped. Saphira hit him. ..._Meany._

As they broke apart, Chris and Shiz complained that they hadn't been enough tongue action – to which Chakii scowled and threw an empty KGB bottle at them. Natalie seemed unruffled and opened another bottle as she moved forward to take her turn.

She gave Shiz a peck on the lips, and he, looking very pleased, rolled a 5 too and kissed Yule lightly.

"Ooooooooh" Chris said – Yule had rolled the dice and it had bounced over to see him. "A 1!"

Yule readjusted her bra and spun the bottle, watching it carefully until it came to a standstill, the neck pointing to Keiran.

His smile slipped – if there was one person he really shouldn't so much as touch, it was Yule... And now he was expected to make out with her?

"Roll again." Saphira said, very soberly, her eyes fixed on Yule's. _SAVED! _Keiran thought, brightening.

Yule glared at her. "Why?"

"It's a rule, remember? It has to be three or more."

She made an annoyed noise. "You lot shut up!"

A good portion of the circle was oooooooohing suggestively in light of Saphira's resentment. They quietened, a bit, and she threw the dice again – a four.

"Happy?" Yule hissed at Saphira as she made her way over to Keiran, who clutched convulsively at his girlfriend.

Saphira glared at her.

"I don't-" Keiran started.

Then Yule had him by the face and was kissing him. _Oh my God..._ Keiran thought, pressing his lips tightly together; he could feel her running her tongue roughly across them, looking for a way in. _There's not supposed to be any tongue, woman!_ He resisted the urge to push her away – it felt so wrong, _so wrong - _and kept his arms pinned to his sides until she finally gave in and backed off, her face very cold, but not as cold as Kiba's. He was looking at Keiran like he'd like to see him burnt alive. _I didn't _want _to kiss her, stupid._ ...But she had wanted to kiss him - that was for sure. It was a _very_ good thing that rule had been made...

Keiran found himself subconsciously wiping his mouth on his sleeve as Yule stalked back to her spot.

"I'm sorry-" he whispered to Saphira, who was fuming so much you could almost see the steam rising from her. He wanted to kiss her – make her know that she was far, _far_ more important to him than anyone else, but he didn't think she'd want to touch him after he'd been in contact with the enemy...

She shook her head and tried to smile. "Not your fault. Go do your turn."

Depressed, Keiran crawled forward and rolled the dice. "1," he said blankly. Was he still drunk enough to make out with someone who wasn't Saphira?

"Roll again!"

"No, he's allowed to make out with guys, 'member?" Astarte said, sounding indecently eager. "Spin it."

_Oh joy, a guy. I really don't think I'm drunk enough for that now_. Keiran thought and set the bottle spinning.

It made five full circles before slowing, skipping past Arthur, Yule, and Kiba, before coming to a halt pointing straight at Darius. It suddenly got very noisy as girls cheered and guys made vomiting notions. Astarte squealed. And it was followed by a strange squeaking noise from Saphira, who seem to have forgotten Yule in light of this interesting development and had her hand clamped over her mouth and her eyes wide and excited.

"..." Keiran said.

"..." Darius replied.

"... I am not making out with him." Keiran said to the circle at large.

"You have to!" Chakii exclaimed, looking just as excited as Astarte and Saphira.

Keiran stared at Darius, who was swaying slightly, wearing a slightly confused smile. Keiran was confused too– instead of feeling sick, or reluctant, or unfaithful, he felt nervous, and a little excited... Like he felt the first time he kissed Saphira... _What does this mean? That I _like _Darius? _He glanced over at Blank – the boy was watching him carefully, a very sly smile on his lips as he held Match to his side.

"Hurry up!" Natalie called impatiently.

Keiran slowly crawled over to Darius, who blinked at him.

"What'reyoudoing?" Darius asked thickly as Keiran pulled him forward by the shirt until they were nose to nose.

"Just shut up a minute."

"Are you going to kiss me?"

Keiran heart rate increased, looking into Darius' calm blue eyes. Why was he so cool about this? Was it the alcohol, or did he really not mind? Or had it just not clicked properly yet? He could feel Darius' breath against his chin, and it felt nice...

"Kiss him!"

Keiran lurched forward and seized Darius' lips in his own, closing his eyes tightly and twisting his hands into Darius' hair. Darius' eyelids flickered against Keiran's cheekbones and then closed, his own hands resting on Keiran's thighs. In a wave of dizziness, Keiran pushed himself into a deeper kiss, and Darius made a strange noise in his throat as Keiran's tongue brushed against his own, yet didn't move away. _Oh hell_, w_hy does this not feel wrong? Why was it so wrong with Yule and yet this is so good?_ He didn't want to admit it even to himself, but he was getting rather turned on; Darius' hand was at his chest now, and yet it still didn't feel wrong. He wanted so badly to keep going, but they were in a room full of people, and he couldn't- he just couldn't do that to Saphira _or _Darius...

He pulled back and was surprised to see that Darius' lips followed him slightly. Nose to nose they gazed at each other; Darius' pupils dilated and his breathing coming quickly. His expression was impossible to read.

"Oh my God." said Astarte weakly, snapping Keiran from his trance. "I think I'm going to faint." Indeed she did look light-headed and was swaying. Chaku patted her consolingly on the shoulder. Natalie had a blood-stained hanky over her nose, and Saphira was staring with her mouth open.

Keiran grinned sheepishly and crept back to her, leaving Darius looking like he'd seen a ghost. "Was it as hot as you thought it'd be?" he whispered.

She nodded and pulled him close. "And so much more, good God..."

"Thank heavens that's over." Chris groaned, looking ill. Beside him, Shiz nodded. And beside _him_ Blank was smiling lopsidedly in a way that made Keiran think he knew more about how Keiran felt about what had just happened than Keiran did himself.

"Poor Darius looks like he doesn't know what hit him." Kiba observed with a smirk. Darius hadn't moved – he was still staring blankly at the ground where Keiran had been sitting.

And Keiran was struck by a sudden thought: _Did I just steal Darius' first kiss..?_ Feeling very guilty, he poked him, rather more gently than he usually would of. "It's your turn."

"... I dun' wan' to..." he said very weakly, looking at his bottle and, finding that it still had something in it, poured it into his mouth.

"Well you have to." Keiran pointed him in the right general direction.

"'kay..." Darius crawled out and sat in front of the bottle.

"Roll the dice first!" Chris called from where he was now lying on his back on the opposite side of the circle.

He did so. "_San? _Imean - Three? What'sthatmean?"

"'s a light kiss on the lips. Not just a peck though." Shiz contributed helpfully. "I thinks."

"Oh..." Blankly, he spun the bottle. It was a poor spin; not even managing to complete a full circle before it wobbled to a halt pointing at none other than Astarte, who gasped.

Keiran smiled vaguely. Funny how these things turn out.

Darius stared at her vacantly.

"You have to kiss her~" Natalie cooed, waving him in her direction.

"..." said Darius, shuffling forwards. Astarte stayed perfectly still, only a glint in her eyes betraying her excitement. Keiran wondered if she'd be able to stop herself from taking it further than just that one kiss... It was going to be hard, for sure, possibly as hard as it had been for him to stop kissing Darius...

"Um."

"Just kiss her!"

"But-"

Astarte smiled reassuringly, and Darius seemed to sort out whatever he was thinking; leaning forward and kissing her softly on the lips. Keiran noticed her hand twitch as if she'd very much like the raise it to his face, but she didn't, and Darius drew away, looking just as blank as before as he returned to his seat.

Astarte's cheeks had gone red, and she quickly rushed to roll the dice to hide her discomfort. Keiran was impressed by her self-control, and a little envious of it.

She rolled a 2 and very reluctantly made out with Shiz, who seemed to enjoy himself. Shiz rolled a 3 and after putting up a huge fight, kissed Chris, - and then Keiran gave up watching, helping himself to another drink or three.

He was far more interested in watching Saphira's chest rise and fall as she breathed. She had noticed and was putting extra effort into it – which really wasn't helping matters. Several times he found his hands sneaking up to try and undo her shirt, but each time she would catch them and return them to her waist, teasing him horribly with her touch and kisses and soft whispers. How was this fair – she was allowed to touch him however she liked and he couldn't even undo one button?

Just one button... He tried again and was thwarted.

"I let you take _my_ shirt off..." he murmured into her hair. Indeed he was once again shirtless – at least it was a warm night.

"We're in _public, _Keiran," she whispered back.

His ears pricked. "We could not be in public, easy."

She smiled and turned back to the game, just in time to see Arthur peck Chaku on the cheek, the pair of them blushing bright red. Was there something happening there...? _Probably not_, Keiran reasoned, and tuned out as Chaku rolled the dice.

Would Saphira let him lean on her chest..? Maybe she was just a little sensitive about her boobs – some girls could be, he knew. But he didn't see why she should be - they might be a liiiittle small, but they _looked _fine and as boob-like as boobs could be... And so the madness begins. He tried one last time to undo that bloody button, but no, she stopped him again. _Alright, if I can't touch _them, _I'll touch something else instead._

He shifted his eyes onto her legs. She was wearing skinny jeans tonight, and she didn't really have fat thighs, in fact they were just about right. Keiran trailed a finger up one, and she didn't make a move to stop him. Success!

"Saph!"

Keiran started, and glanced up to see the bottle pointing at Saphira, Chris hovering beside it. He stiffened involuntarily, hating the impatient look on Chris' face. "What did you roll?"

"A 3." Chris kept his voice carefully flat and edged forward.

"Don't touch her." Keiran found himself saying, straightening up and moving in front of Saphira.

"It's just a kiss." He laughed.

"Don't you dare touch her," Keiran repeated; he was on his feet now, his blood boiling at the mere thought of him touching Saphira. His fists clenched.

Chris tried a smile, but it was weak – even he could sense that he had just got himself into a dangerous situation. He backed off slightly, and Keiran narrowed his eyes.

"Alright then, I won't," he said with a laugh before turning to Shiz and saying lightly, "it's not like I wanted to kiss his whore of a girlfriend anyway."

Blinded by a sudden rage, Keiran flew at Chris and rammed him into the ground; his fist connected with his jaw with a satisfying crack and Keiran raised his fist to strike again-

And someone tackled him, sending him rolling across the floor. Keiran snarled in annoyance and tried to scramble to his feet, but the person had him around the legs and he face-planted, cursing, and was unceremoniously sat on.

He kicked and swore and bit and yelled death threats at Chris until, very slowly, the red haze that had covered his eyes cleared and he quit struggling and was calm once more.

Keiran breathed out slowly, _what just happened?_

Blank looked down at him from where he was sitting between his shoulder blades, his expression flat. "Finished?"

"..." said Keiran.

"I'll let you up if you promise not to go ape-shit again."

Keiran nodded. He didn't even know what he'd done anymore. It was as if he'd woken from a dream and could remember bits, but not all of it. He could remember Saphira yelling, and blood...

Blank stood up, and stepped back as Keiran got to his feet, feeling dazed.

"What-?" he started.

"You're fucking insane." Chris spat from the far side of the room where Chaku and Natalie were trying to tend to his split lip, but he was being difficult, trying to wipe at it himself and knocking their helping hands out of the way as blood splattered the stone.

The wave of red ran through Keiran again and he moved towards him; Chris leapt back a mile, but was saved from taking another beating by four swordsmen, who seized Keiran and dragged him away as he swore and struggled, his fury renewed.

"Let go of me! I'm gonna _murder_ the fucker," Keiran growled, wrenching his arm out of Darius' grasp. It was quickly grabbed and twisted back by Blank.

"Keiran, please." It was Saphira; she had tears in her eyes as she stood in front of him, blocking Chris from view.

Keiran paused, his chest heaving, and looked at her. The rage left him instantly. He went limp and sagged; his captors forced to release him as his dead weight threatened to drag them down to the ground too.

Saphira crouched before him as he curled up, "Keiran-" she said, reaching out. She laid her hand on his shoulder; he flinched. What had he done? He didn't deserve her...

"Can you leave us?" He heard her say.

"We'll be just there if he tries it again." Blank said. _He thinks I'm crazy too..._

"...Keiran?" Saphira said again, giving his shoulder a little shake. "Look at me."

Keiran wanted to shake his head and hide some more, but instead forced his head up to meet her eyes, and she carefully took it in her soft hands.

"I know what you're thinking," she said quietly. "I'm not mad at you."

He said nothing.

"You were just protecting me-"

"I _punched_ him."

"Yes... You did."

"I shouldn't have- You didn't hit Yule..."

"That doesn't mean I didn't want to."

"I've never hit anyone before..." Keiran muttered, feeling awful in more ways than one.

"From what Astarte was saying, it sounded like he had it coming."

"I didn't have to hit him..."

Saphira sighed. "Look, Keiran, it's in the past. He'll get over it and be a better person for it, hopefully, so no harm done."

Keiran gazed at her blankly. He wanted so badly to believe her, but nothing worked like that. He'd hit Chris in a drunken rage, and drawn blood – he'd injured a friend, however lousy he might be – he shouldn't be allowed to be a Paladin, and most certainly should never drink again, who knows who he'd hurt next time...

"Go to bed." Saphira said kindly, stroking his cheek. "Sleep on it."

He nodded mutely and got to his feet, staggering from the room without a backwards glance and walked straight into Sir Kuronosu's broad chest, thankfully unarmoured.

"...What the." Kuronosu said, looking very surprised as Keiran blinked drearily up at him.

"Sorry..." Keiran muttered and stepping around him, continued his way down the hall, feeling the Paladin's eyes on his back until he was safely in the bedroom, where he collapsed on his bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep.


	14. Part 14: Overreaction much?

Teeny chapter this time~

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity.

* * *

"Sorry to wake you, but we have class in 15 minutes." Darius said.

Keiran stirred, groaning as his head made itself known in the form of a throbbing headache and he remembered the previous night's events. "How's Chris?"

"Sir Kuronosu healed him – he's fine." Keiran tried to pick up from his tone what he thought of Keiran's behaviour, but his tone was very flat.

"Kuro?"

Darius didn't bother to correct him. "Yes, he came in just after you left to see who was making all the noise."

"... Was he mad?"

"He was upset that we'd chosen a week-night for the party, and that he hadn't been invited, but he wasn't mad."

"What about... me? Didn't Chris tell him?" Keiran asked the wall.

"That's the strange thing – he didn't. He said he'd split his lip when he'd tripped over."

Keiran rolled over and gaped at him, "_what?_"

Darius shrugged. "Maybe he forgave you?"

"I doubt that very much."

"Either way, you're going to be late if you don't get up now."

"I don't want to go."

"Hiding from your problems isn't going to make them better." Darius said wisely, tossing him his uniform.

Keiran caught his tunic and tugged it on. "... Do you hate me?"

"What? Of course I don't." He looked amused. "Chris deserved what he got."

_And what about the kiss? Do you hate me for that?_

"I ruined your party... I'm sorry."

Darius shrugged. "I don't think it would have gone on much longer anyway – Sir Kuronosu made us all go to bed about five minutes after you left."

"Did anyone... you know," Keiran stared at the wall as he pulled his socks on. "Say anything... about me?"

"If you're asking if they think less of you, the answer is no. We're all in agreement that he needed to learn sooner or later. He doesn't, of course, and Shiz too, but-"

"Did they say anything?" he repeated.

"...One or two of them were shocked – they hadn't expected that you had it in you."

_Neither did I. _Keiran winced, and Darius continued: "And Blank said if you hadn't hit him, he would have." He patted him on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it, really."

_But I will... _Keiran thought as he strapped on his shin guards, and it was only then he realised the morning sunlight wasn't pouring through the window like it had been for the last few weeks. He dragged himself over to the window.

Outside it was trying to rain; the sky was clouded over in a blanket of grey, occasionally throwing down short sprinkles of water that would stop as quickly as they started.

"What the hell." Keiran commented.

"Looks like you were actually right for once," Darius said, wandering up beside him. "It's been like this all morning."

"Why, how long have you been up?"

"Since 7."

"Urgh, you're game." Keiran massaged his temple in hope that it would make his headache go away. Wishful thinking.

"I couldn't sleep." said Darius quietly, and then turned and headed for the door. "Hurry up or we'll be late."

Keiran cast a last look outside and slung his pack over his shoulder, following Darius, deciding that today was going to suck terribly.

Slipping into his seat in the classroom, Keiran glanced around. Everyone seemed to have managed to get up in time, but were all looking a little worse for wear. Except for Yuki, who had joined them again and was chatting animatedly with Chakii – the least tired, sick-looking person of them all. He caught Saphira's eye on the opposite side of the room and tried a smile. She smiled easily in reply and Keiran felt a great weight lift from his chest.

"Good morning!" Sir Kuronosu said as he strolled into the room, his book of teaching notes under one arm. He was looking a lot healthier now it was cool enough to wear his armour without cooking.

"Good morning" the class droned with varying levels of enthusiasm, or lack-there of.

"All hung-over, are we?" Kuronosu grinned. "That'll teach you."

And so the lesson began. Today Kuronosu was explaining the history behind the Guild – most of which Keiran already knew, so he spent the time pondering whether Kuro actually had a lesson plan for the year or if he just taught them whatever he felt like teaching when he woke up that morning, and wishing he could go back to bed.

An hour later he dismissed them cheerfully with instructions to eat well (many stomachs had been rumbling throughout the class), and make sure they came to class on time in the afternoon, which would be _inside_ due to the rain.

"Huuuuuuuuungry." Keiran wailed, clinging to Saphira's hand as they headed off to lunch. Straight after class she had given him a cuddle and a kiss and he'd felt instantly on top of the world again, even so much as to grin evilly at Chris as he'd stalked past.

"Didn't you have breakfast?" she asked with a smile.

"No, I was sleeping."

"Well then, you can't complain."

"I can too, just watch me."

Blank, who was walking just ahead of them, suddenly hissed in warning. Keiran peered around his shoulder curiously.

Lord Ishikawa was making his way up the corridor towards them, the Crusaders and Paladins he passed going the other way bowing like waves until he was well past.

Keiran quickly glued himself to the wall and bowed along with the other swordsmen, expecting him to continue on by. But his footfall slowed and stopped, and Keiran found himself looking at Lord Ishikawa's pointy shoes. He was suddenly very uneasy.

"Keiran-_kun,_" Lord Ishikawa said smoothly, his voice cool. "My office, now."

Keiran's heart froze. He was in trouble, he knew it. But why? Had Chris told him..?

"Keiran..." Saphira said, possibly concerned that he hadn't straightened up from his bow even though the Guild leader had gone.

He looked up at her – she looked worried, and behind her the others were staring at him. All but Chris and Shiz – they had long since left the group...

"... I should go." Keiran said, and without another look back, marched after Lord Ishikawa, trying very hard not to panic. Chris must have told on him, it was the only thing he could think of- But that would get him in trouble too wouldn't it...? But then, he could say the party was all Keiran's idea in the first place, which was true - and what if Chris had told him about the kiss with Darius?

These questions and more kept chasing each other around Keiran's head as he knocked on the Guild leader's office door, which, unlike Kuronosu's, was notice-free and plain. Quite similar to the room inside...

"Enter." Lord Ishikawa's voice said.

Keiran swallowed and let himself in, bowing deeply. _Should I say something?_

"... Ah. Keiran-_kun_." said Lord Ishikawa. Keiran didn't dare look up. "Do you know why I've called you here?"

_Maybe._ "No, my Lord." Keiran said unsteadily. He could feel the Paladin appraising him silently from his seat behind the desk.

"I have received a most interesting piece of news..." Lord Ishikawa said, and there was a slight rustling of paper. "Would you care to explain how one of your friends came to have a split lip last night?"

Keiran swallowed again with difficulty. He was really in the shit now... Should he lie? Not say anything? No, probably best to tell the truth… "... I hit him," he muttered to his feet.

"Look at me and say that again, please, with more volume."

Gathering what little confidence he could find, Keiran looked the Paladin in the eyes, and said, as clearly as he could: "I hit him."

Lord Ishikawa raised his eyebrows a little and wrote something down, then looked back at Keiran. "_Who _did you hit?"

"Chris."

"And why?"

"He called my girlfriend a whore." Keiran felt a rush of anger at the memory, wishing very much to punch Chris again for causing this mess.

Lord Ishikawa tutted and shook his head, getting to his feet and walking around the desk to stand in front of Keiran; he met his gaze levelly. "That is hardly any reason to punch a fellow swordsman in the mouth."

Keiran's eyelid twitched and he was suddenly very angry. "Why? If he called your wife a whore, wouldn't you?"

Lord Ishikawa's expression contorted and he back-handed Keiran across the face; he staggered back, stunned.

"Don't you dare- Don't you _dare _speak to me like that again," the Paladin hissed, advancing on Keiran, who backed away, a hand clamped to his stinging cheek. "Get out."

Keiran stared at him, breathing heavily.

"_Get out_." Lord Ishikawa repeated in a voice so poisonous that Keiran turned and ran, not stopping until he was in his bedroom, where he collapsed to his hands and knees, panting and shaking in fear and revulsion.

"Oh my God..." he whispered, watching blood from his cheek drip to the floor. He didn't care that Lord Ishikawa had hit him – he knew he more than deserved that... His career as a crusader was over – he had insulted their leader, a powerful Lord and his best friend's father. "What have I done..?" _I can't believe I did that..._

After a few minutes of thinking of all the horrible things that would happen to him now, watching the blood puddle grow to the size of a small dinner plate, Keiran dragged himself over to the mirror to examine his face, which was feeling very tender.

"..." he said. His right cheek had swollen to twice the size it should be, just beginning to interfere with his vision as the bruising spread, turning steadily purple beneath the red of the blood from four large gashes, presumably caused by the metal guards on the Paladin's hand...

He moved away and sank onto the edge of his bed. He couldn't go down to lunch looking like this – not that it mattered, he wasn't hungry anymore anyway... What could he do? Should he start packing..? _Would_ they throw him out? _Could _they? Yes, probably... What would happen to him then? Would he be able to join a different guild? Maybe he could become a knight instead..? Hanging out with Alex wouldn't be too bad...

_Chris told on you_... his head interrupted. He was smarter than he looked, Chris. Everyone knew that Kuronosu had a soft spot for Keiran and favoured him above the others, maybe even above Darius, and that Kuro would probably have let Keiran off with a minor punishment; so he had lied to him and gone straight to Lord Ishikawa... _Well he'll be happy now! _Keiran snorted.

Behind him the door opened and closed.

"Oh good, you're here. Why didn't you come down- is that blood?" It was Darius, and he was suddenly seized by the shoulders and forced to raise his head. He stared up at Darius blankly and he stared back, horrified, his eyes fixed on the right side of Keiran's face, which was still leaking blood.

"Oh my Lord- who did this?" Darius stammered, raising a hand as if to touch Keiran's wounds, but thought better of it. "Was it Chris?"

"No." Keiran said, covering his cheek with his hand to stop Darius staring at it. "It was your dad."

Darius' eyes flew open wide in horror. "Oh no Keiran, what did you do!"

"...I implied your mother was a whore, I think." _Amongst other things..._

Darius closed his eyes tightly, as if imagining his father's reaction to this, and breathed out slowly through his nose.

"Am I going to be chucked out?" Keiran asked, but Darius shook his head.

"I really don't know." He sagged onto the bed beside him. "Oh Keiran... _Why..?"_

Keiran shrugged, vaguely aware that his vision had blurred now that his right eye had swollen nearly completely closed. "I just got really mad again. He didn't seem to think insulting my girlfriend was a good enough reason for hitting Chris..."

"You didn't try hitting _him_ did you?" Darius asked, distressed.

"No, I just asked him if he wouldn't want to hit someone if they called his wife a whore… Then he hit me, so obviously he would..."

Darius put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes again. "Jesus..."

"I think there's something wrong with me..."

"Yeah, your damn face is bleeding all over the fucking place, that's what." said Blank, suddenly sitting on Darius' bed opposite. "Shit-head-Chris was just saying he'd told Ishikawa you punched him - thought I'd come check he hadn't fucking skinned you alive or something since you didn't come to lunch when Ishikawa did."

"... I appreciate the thought, thank you." Keiran said honestly, wiping some blood off his lip.

"You should, you know, do something about that – you look like shit."

"'Can't... No pots."

"I'll go find someone to heal you." Darius offered, then added after a second: "someone _nice."_

"Thank you." Keiran said. How was it he had ended up with such good friends when he was such an ass?

"You're a fucking retard, you know that?" Blank hissed at him when Darius was gone.

"I know..."

"Me and Match only just tell you to watch your damn self and you bloody well go and fuck him off enough for him to fucking hit you?"

"I know..." Keiran repeated. Somehow having Blank telling him how much of a dick he was made him feel better... Where was the logic in that?

"If you get kicked out I'm going to kill you."

Keiran looked at him in surprise – coming from Blank that was something of a declaration of friendship. Blank narrowed his eyes.

"Fuck, what did you do to him anyway?"

"I was rude and disrespectful, to say the least."

Blank ran a hand through his hair, glaring at the roof.

"You don't think Chris told him about me... kissing Darius, do you?"

He flicked his eyes back to Keiran. "He didn't say he did, but that doesn't mean the fucktard _didn't. _... But how'd that sound? '_Oh, by the way- Keiran made out with your son.'" _Blank snorted._ "_Not likely."

Gazing at his blood stained hands blankly, Keiran said nothing.

"I was gonna say somethin' to you about that-" Blank started.

BANG! The door was flung open and smacked into the wall; Keiran and Blank both jumped and spun around.

"Keiran, sir!" Xin exclaimed, rushing to his side. Darius closed the door and came over more slowly, shooting Keiran an apologetic look. "What happened?"

"Er, I got in a little fight-" Keiran said as Xin carefully examined his face, rather too closely for Keiran's comfort. Blank snorted again.

"Sorry, sir, please can you look that way?" Xin pointed, and Keiran looked, wincing as Xin ran his fingers along Keiran's swollen cheek. "What made these wounds?"

"A Paladin's finger guards."

"... Do you have a cloth? And some water?"

"I'm on it." Darius said, collecting the water jug and a flannel from the dresser which he handed to Xin.

"This will sting, I'm sorry..." Xin said, squeezing the excess water from the flannel and began very gently wiping the blood from Keiran's face.

He gritted his teeth and watched Blank and Darius' expressions over Xin's shoulder as a means of distraction from the pain. From the way they both looked like they'd eaten a lemon, the wounds looked worse clean than they did covered in blood.

"...Why do you have to clean it? Can't you just heal it?" he asked, watching Xin wring out a now very red flannel and return it to his face.

"Because of the way a Paladin's finger guard is shaped – like a corner chisel - it is possible you may have needed stitches... But these don't look to be too deep, so should heal well enough without." Xin said, giving Keiran's cheek a final wipe over before laying the cloth down. "Also if the wound is dirty is does no good to heal the skin over it. Heal."

The change was immediate – he could already see out of his right eye again and it didn't sting half as much, nor ache when Xin touched it.

"Heal," he repeated, and then again, until Xin could press quite firmly on Keiran's cheekbone without it hurting at all.

Xin sat back and observed Keiran through his green eyes, looking pleased.

Keiran glanced questioningly at Blank and Darius; Darius smiled and Blank gave him the thumbs up. Curious, Keiran wandered over to the mirror; his face was completely normal – there wasn't a mark or bruise to be seen.

"Holy..." he muttered, poking the place where only minutes before had been a bleeding mess of mangled skin. "Wow, Xin, you're amazing. Thank you very much."

Xin smiled and bowed. "I'm only glad I could be of assistance." He tugged his gloves back on, and Keiran saw what he had meant by the finger guards being like chisels – the bones between each finger joint were protected by a sort of triangle of steel; the edges blunted, but still sharp enough to cut with enough force behind them, obviously. Keiran's mind produced a pile of unwelcome grisly images of what _could_ have happened to his face if Lord Ishikawa had been a little angrier...

"Thank you, really," Keiran repeated. "You've saved me."

He looked touched, and was still smiling as he dismissed himself.

"... You know, I'm really getting quite attached to that guy." Keiran said once the door was safely closed behind him.

"It's like having your own personal slave." Blank said dryly. "Next thing you know he'll be giving you blow jobs and letting you fuck him."

Silence greeted this comment, as Keiran and Darius both stared at him.

"Fuck, I was _joking, _Jesus." Blank rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

Keiran cleared his throat. "Where's Match?"

"I told him to keep an eye and ear on shit-for-brains-Chris. In case the fucktard blurted out exactly what he told Ishikawa." He shot a meaningful glance from Keiran to Darius and back. Darius missed the true meaning, but Keiran picked it up easily. _What had Blank been about to say earlier..? _It was going to have to wait - whatever it was probably didn't want to be said in front of Darius... _Oh God, why can't I just go back in time and not play that stupid game..?_

Darius frowned. "There's still the matter of your possible eviction."

Keiran's heart skipped a beat. He'd just about forgotten about that.

"Did my father actually say anything about expelling you?" Darius continued

"No... He didn't say anything about any sort of punishment – I just assumed..."

"We may be in luck..." he said thoughtfully. "To expel someone from the guild, he has to announce it formally and give a reason, and I'm not sure you can get thrown out solely for insulting the guild leader once..."

"And hitting a fellow guildsman." Keiran reminded him.

"Oh right..." Darius itched his chin, and then got to his feet. "Blank, can I please borrow you for a minute?"

Blank lifted his chin from his hand and looked up at Darius in surprise, "yeah, sure?"

"Keiran, you stay here."

"What? Why?" Keiran gaped, halfway through standing up.

"I don't think you should be there if we're caught."

"What?"

Blank raised an eyebrow, following Darius to the door.

"Just stay here, okay?"

Keiran sank back onto the bed. "Okay..."

What the hell was he up to? Get caught? Caught doing _what?_ And with Blank? What the hell was going on? And what did that have to do with him being in the deepest shit he'd been in since that time his mum had found him trying to roll a joint in the bathroom?

He let himself fall back with a sigh. He could actually do with a smoke right now, be it tobacco or otherwise, but he hadn't smoked for going on two years now, (cigarettes at least). Making sure he succumbed to every opportunity of peer pressure he could, Keiran had started smoking when he was 14, shortly after he started frequenting bars and getting into the ladies, literally. But he's forced himself to quit pretty soon – he hated the smell that had become permanent and would follow him around even after a shower... (He still kept up with the sex and alcohol though).

Right now, however, he would kill for one.

He groaned and rolled over. Life sucked. He wanted Saphira; he wanted her to hold him and tell him it would all be okay. He had half a mind to go find her, but presumably Darius' order of 'stay here' didn't mean 'stay anywhere but where we are' and actually meant 'stay here, in this room'.

"Stupid, stupid..." Keiran muttered, beating his head against the mattress. Why did he have to hit Chris? Couldn't he have just let it slide? Strange- he couldn't seem to bring himself to blame Chris for anything... Yet if Chris had kept his eyes off Saphira, who he knew perfectly well was Keiran's girlfriend, none of this would have happened and his career wouldn't be hanging in the balance. Just like he couldn't blame Lord Ishikawa for slicing off his knuckles or hitting him... What did that make him? Stupid? Or just too forgiving for his own good?

"Honey, I'm home~" Blank called as he entered the room.

"That was quick." Keiran said.

"Ah, but you can't say it was quick, retard, because you don't damn well know where we were going nor what we were doing." He flounced over easily and dropped onto Darius' bed again.

"Where's Darius?" Keiran glanced at the door, but there was no sign of him.

"Coming, coming." Blank said breezily.

"...Do you have time to tell me what you were going to say before?"

Blank blinked, then grinned. "Oh, nah. For that shit we need a good few hours."

"Oh..." said Keiran, confused.

"Okay!" Darius announced, closing the door behind him as he came in, a very large book under one arm. "Got it."

"'It'?"Keiran asked, staring at the leather bound book as Darius sat down and set it on his knee, his glasses already perched on his nose.

"The Guild's Records of Expulsion." Darius said, smoothing out the first page carefully – the book looked very old.

"Where did you find that?" Keiran doubted it had been lying around in the library.

"Father's office."

Keiran gaped at him with mixed emotions - horror, shock and pride being just a few. "_You broke into the Guild leader's office?"_

"I did the breaking part, Darius did the entering," Blank offered, now reclining lazily, radiating rogue from every pore. Odd how he seemed most chilled after just doing something rogue-like...

"... So what, you're going to see if he's stuck me down in there already?" Keiran asked.

"I already checked – he hasn't." Darius said, flipping to the next page. "I'm looking at the reasons to see if anything relates to our situation."

Curious, Keiran shuffled closer to read over his shoulder. "Anything yet?"

"No. These are from a very long time ago, when trivial things didn't matter."

Keiran read the first few names and reasons for expulsion: Hayden J. Hobson - For the murder of Julius L. Corner; Lucile M. Jacobs - For repeated thefts from the Guild Treasury; Nathaniel R. Down - For the rape and torture of Olivia J. Stone & Ishikawa Yumiko.

"Ishikawa?" Keiran said. "Are you related to her?" _Him?_

Darius looked at the name briefly, and then turned the page. "I don't know, possibly. Like I said, these are from a very long time ago."

"Jesus, I didn't know this sort of thing happened in guilds..." Keiran muttered, reading down the new page, "murder, murder, rape, theft, murder, treason, rape... adultery?"

"That means fucking someone other than the person you're married to." Blank said boredly.

"I know what it means, what I didn't know was that you could get kicked out for it."

Blank shrugged and got laboriously to his feet. "I'm gonna go see what Match is up to." He stared at Keiran a moment through narrowed eyes, then sighed resignedly. "Do you want me to get you some damn food?"

Keiran could have hugged him. "Yes pleeease!"

"Alright retard... I'll let Saphira know what's going down too."

"Thank you~!"

"Oh, Blank." Darius called.

"Yo?"

"Could you not tell anyone else about this?"

"Wasn't gonna."

"Not even Saphira."

"What, why!" Keiran spluttered.

"The more people that know, the messier it will get. If you tell Saphira, she will tell Astarte, or her sister, and they will tell someone else, until everyone knows. No, it's safer if it's just us."

"What about Xin?"

"He only knows it was a Paladin who hit you; he won't think it was the Guild leader."

"Can I tell Match?" Blank asked.

Darius thought about it. "Yes, but only him."

"Alright then."

"Thank you." He returned to his book.

"No sweat." Blank muttered and stalked from the room.

_Oh my God, how gay. _Keiran thought to himself, but it did make sense really, after all it was Darius who said it – he rarely said anything that didn't hold some importance.

"Rape, rape, murder-" he read.

"Shh!" Darius said, waving him away.

He went and stared out the window instead. The weather was being sympathetic with his situation and was still gloomy, but it had given up on the rain for now. Keiran slid down the wall and sighed, watching the grey swirls of cloud meander across the sky.

"If you're wanting something to do to take your mind of it, you could clean the blood off the floor." said Darius, not looking up.

"..." Keiran fixed his eyes on the red puddle. "I dunno, I think red and grey go quite nicely together."

Darius smiled briefly in reply.

With a sigh he set to work, using the flannel and water Xin had been using on his face.

"...It won't come off," he said thickly after a while of scrubbing. The stains were proving to be very stubborn and even now there was a reddish tinge to the stone, but Keiran's arm was sore, and the once white, now red flannel was starting to fall apart.

"Good news!" Darius announced, closing the book with a flourish. "The only things I can find are _repeated _offences of violence or verbal abuse, so as long as you don't hit anyone else, you should be alright."

"Oh good."

"I came to the conclusion also that it wouldn't be in his best interest to throw you out."

"Oh?" Keiran looked up. Darius was smiling.

"If the guild found out that he hit a swordsman solely because you, as you say, implied his wife is a whore, they would think he was starting to lose it, and he'd lose their respect. And it would be all too easy for you to let what happened slip out at dinner one day."

"I'm not following. Wouldn't that make it more likely for him to throw me out? So I _can't _tell everyone?"

"You didn't let me finish. Yes, he will want you gone, but he _can't _expel you for such a reason. He has to announce in front of the whole guild the reason for the person's expulsion before it becomes official, and 'for implying my wife is a whore' isn't going to go down well with the rest of the guild, especially when you're as talented as you are. And as I've said, you can't be thrown out solely for one case of violence."

"So... he can't throw me out without giving away how much of a crackpot he is? No offence."

Darius chuckled. "Exactly."

"So I'm staying?" Keiran clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Probably."

"Yay!"

"I said _probably."_

"Which is better than maybe!" Keiran gave the floor a last aggressive scrub and stood up dizzyingly fast. "Wow blood rush. So what will happen to me?"

"I would say he'll give you the strongest punishment he can manage for hitting Chris, but other than that, nothing."

Keiran's mind provided a wide range of gruesome or painful punishments which he shoved aside impatiently. He doubted very much Lord Ishikawa would be allowed to cut off any fingers – he'd probably just end up in the stables for the rest of his life. "So he'll just pretend I never said anything?"

"I presume so."

"Yaaaaaaay~~~!" Keiran sang, picking up the jug of bloody water and the cloth and skipping from the room, then darted back in. "I am allowed to go to the bathroom, right?"

Darius raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"Yaaaaaaay~~~!"

Darius laughed as Keiran skipped away. His smile slipped slowly, and he gazed at the heavy book. "Now let's just hope I'm right..."


	15. Part 15: Don't tell him ANYTHING

Oh my gosh these chapters just keep getting shorter and shorter...

Thanks for reading! :DD

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok (c) Gravity

* * *

When Keiran returned, his hands blood free and his hair (which he hadn't had time to do in the morning) fixed, his bedroom was rather full of people.

Along with Darius, who had his novel open in front of him once again (the Guild book was nowhere to be seen), there was Blank and Match, and Saphira and Astarte, and a plate of sandwiches, which Keiran fell upon after greeting everyone quite cheerfully.

"What did Lord Ishikawa want then?" Astarte asked from the end of Darius' bed. "Was it about last night?"

"Yeah." Keiran said through a mouthful of tuna, and doubled his chewing efforts so he could tell his lame-as lie that he'd made up without any fish in the way. "He wanted to know the reason, so I told him, then he gave me an angry lecture on morals and shit."

"And the punishment?"

"None yet – he said he'd get back to me on it." Then he added: "Not in those words though."

Astarte raised an eyebrow, and then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in~" Keiran called.

Yuki stepped in; behind him in the hallway Keiran could see the shapes of several large Paladins, who thankfully _stayed _in the hallway.

"Hi!" Yuki said, smiling. "I have to go home now, but I thought I should come say bye before I left."

"What? No, you can't go!" Saphira wailed, looking upset as she rushed to hug him.

"He'll be back, don't worry." Darius said, setting his book down.

Yuki nodded fervently in agreement, hugging Saphira back. "I can come and visit during my next school holidays!"

"You can?" Saphira asked, looking happier.

"Of course!" Yuki smiled up at her. "I couldn't leave a pretty _oneechan _waiting."

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Keiran said, getting to his feet and waving them apart, to step between them facing Yuki with a grin. "_My _girlfriend, remember?"

"It's alright Keiran-_oniisan_, I'm not going to steal her off you."

"Well you're not doing a good job of _not_ stealing her." Keiran said with raised eyebrows. "Look at her- she's all love struck."

"But he's so cute!" Saphira protested, trying to reorganise her face.

Yuki grinned and proved her point.

"You could adopt him." Match contributed. He was sitting beside, but not touching Blank on Keiran's bed – they had shuffled apart when Yuki had come in.

"Yeah! When you get married you can adopt me!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Uuuh." said Keiran.

"Somehow I don't think-" Darius started.

"Ssshhh!" Astarte said, waving her arm at him. "Don't spoil their fun."

There was another knock at the door and a Paladin poked his head round. "Yuki-_sama, _we really must be leaving..."

Yuki pulled a face. "Oh alright. I'll be out in a minute.

The Paladin bowed and left.

"I'll miss you!" Saphira squeaked, pulling Yuki into another hug. He patted her consolingly on the back.

Astarte was next and gave the boy a swift cuddle before shooing him towards Darius.

"Well then" said Darius.

"Mm." Yuki said, a very odd expression on his face.

"... Oh come on then." Darius sighed and beckoned to him.

A smile lit Yuki's face and he jumped on Darius, seizing him around the waist in a hug. "It was good to see you again, _oniichan!"_

"And you" Darius said, a fond smile on his face. "Alright, you should go before Shinji gets mad."

Yuki levered himself off the bed, gave Match a hug which was returned warmly, gave Blank a hug, which caused him to fidget, and turned to Keiran, who grinned.

"Take care of _oniichan _for me, won't you?" Yuki said, and wrapped his arms around Keiran's waist.

He smiled and patted him on the head. "Of course I will. Who knows what would happen to him if I didn't?"

Blank muttered something to Match in the background, Match smiled.

"Yuki-_sama-"_ the Paladin said, poking his head around the door again.

"I'm coming already!" Yuki exclaimed, letting go of Keiran and heading for the door.

"Take care of yourself!" Saphira said.

"You too~" Yuki turned and waved. "_Sayounara!"_

And then he was gone.

"... Well," said Keiran.

"Sob," said Saphira.

"Yes indeed," said Astarte.

"Mmhmm," said Match.

"Damn straight," said Blank.

"Let's just go to class," said Darius, and sighed.

* * *

Their magnum break lesson today went well – Lord Ishikawa was not present, so Darius could be himself, as could Keiran, and it was cool weather. Darius refused to fight at full strength during their duels, but had agreed to Keiran's suggestion of fighting just a little above Keiran's level, so that he could only beat Darius if he tried _really_ hard. As a result he lost all three rounds, but felt like he'd learnt something from it, and went on to practice his magnum break in high spirits. Kuronosu commented with a smile that he was getting the hang of it and gave him a pat on the back before continuing on his rounds without so much as mentioning punishment in any form – presumably Lord Ishikawa _hadn't _told anyone then. Yay!

He had almost forgotten all about it when he headed down to dinner that night, arm in arm with Saphira, until a Paladin stood up from the dining table and walked up to meet them at the door.

"Keiran le Lievre?" he asked, squinting at Keiran.

Keiran stared at the jagged scar that ran from one side of his neck to the other, just visible above his throat guard. He cleared his throat and looked up. "Yes, that's me."

"I was told to give you this." The Paladin held out an official looking envelope, which Keiran took with a sinking heart.

"Thank you," he said, trying to smile.

The Paladin raised an eyebrow, then nodded and went back to his seat.

"What is it?" Saphira asked.

Keiran stared at the seal on it - the Guild crest. "I would say it will contain the details of my punishment."

"But it looks so formal..."

"Yeah..."

"Are you going to open it?"

"I don't want to." Keiran took his seat beside Darius, who didn't even look up – Lord Ishikawa was present again. Feck, he could have really done with Darius' support right then.

Lord Ishikawa chose that moment to get to his feet and lead them through saying grace, and the letter was laid aside; but not forgotten. As the Guild leader finally sat down, Keiran seized the envelope again and stared at it.

"Can I open it?" Saphira asked.

"No-oo... I don't think so..." Keiran turned the envelope over in his hands; his name was written on the front in slinky gold handwriting. Deciding he might as well get it over and done with, he sighed and slit it open with his knife.

It was about half a page long, written in the same linked writing. Keiran skimmed over it looking for anything that might mean he was to be expelled from the guild. Upon nothing jumping out at him, he started reading from the beginning, tilting it slightly away from Saphira, just in case.

He read it once, then again, then set it down on the table, breathed in and out a few times, and burst out laughing.

Even Darius paused his mechanical eating to stare at him (luckily they were far enough down the table that Lord Ishikawa didn't notice Keiran laughing like a maniac). Saphira immediately seized the letter to read it for herself.

"... Why are you laughing? This is awful!" she said, waving it in his face.

"I'm not being thrown out!" he gasped. "I don't _care _what he's making me do!"

Darius tensed beside him and made a strange noise, his lip twitched, and he hastily stuffed a forkful of pasta into his mouth. This just made Keiran laugh harder.

"But- three hours of mucking out every day for three weeks? In the heat we've been having lately that's torture!" She looked horrified. "He shouldn't be allowed to do this!"

Keiran took her by the shoulders and took another deep breath. "Saph, I don't have to leave- I wouldn't care if he made me clean all the toilets in the castle every day for a year."

Saphira, who didn't know the full story and therefore had no inkling of why Keiran would even be expelled in the first place, stared at him like he'd gone mad.

Still beaming, Keiran kissed her and then, as subtly as he could, slid the letter across the table for Darius to read. He hissed a warning but his eyes fell on it – obviously his eyesight wasn't so bad he couldn't read without his glasses, maybe he was just like Keiran and his eyes got tired if he read too much without them?

"Grounded?" Darius spluttered, dropping his fork with a clatter. "For three weeks?"

"Shh!" Keiran said, casting an anxious glance over his shoulder at Lord Ishikawa, who was thankfully not looking at them. "It's alright, really!"

"No, Keiran, it's not alright! If you're grounded you can't leave the castle!"

"That's what being grounded usually implies, yes," said Keiran uneasily, reluctant to hear what Darius considered so important that he would abandon his disguise to tell him now.

"The Crusader exams are on the 1st of July!"

Hastily, Keiran did some mental math. "Three weeks from now?" Then it clicked. "Oh no... If I can't leave the castle, how do I train?"

Darius looked grim. "He might not be able to expel you... But it is well within his power to prevent you from becoming a Crusader."

Keiran drooped. He had been working so hard in preparation for those exams, but it would all be for nothing if he was stuck in the castle for the weeks leading up to it... Sure he would ace any written parts, and he might be able to convince Darius to spar with him until he perfected his swordsmanship, but how would he master magnum break and the other skills that really shouldn't be used on people without being able to go out into the fields to practice? "Surely he can't keep me from being a Crusader forever..?"

"Not forever..."

Saphira stared at them, obviously lost. "Why would he do something like that? It's not like you killed Chris or anything."

"Father is very much against violence." Darius said (_sure he is, _thought Keiran, _that's why he hit me)_, then picked up his fork again. "We'll discuss this further later."

"Oi, pass the letter" Blank said, holding out his hand from opposite Keiran. Keiran passed it over mutely.

"Aw man, you're fucked." He groaned after a minute and handed it to Match. "You gotta fucking wonder if being thrown out would be better."

"Never!" Keiran exclaimed ardently.

Blank shrugged. "Well if Ishikawa's gonna fucking like, ban you from taking Crusader exams for the rest of your life then what's the point in staying around?"

"He's not banning me though-"

"No he's just making it fricking impossible for you to pass. He might as well have banned you."

"Just this time, I can take it at the start of next year-"

"Unless you fuck him off again between now and then, and let's face it – it's gonna happen."

Keiran wilted some more and Blank returned to his meal.

"It is _not _going to happen." Saphira said kindly, wrapping Keiran in her arms and glaring at Blank. "He has no right to stop you becoming a Crusader for such a minor offence. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you do the best you can in this exam – even if it means I have to be your dummy for practicing magnum break on."

"Wow thanks, Saph." Keiran said, touched. "That means a lot. But you know I could never do that – I'm so rubbish at it I might set you on fire."

"That's the idea, silly." She leaned over to kiss him, but paused, casting a glance at Darius.

Darius caught her eye and scowled, then gave a ghost of a smile and turned away. "Just eat."

Saphira raised an eyebrow, pecked Keiran on the cheek, and helped herself to some more pasta.

"Sigh," said Keiran, poking absently at his food, which he didn't want to eat anymore. There were only a small handful of things he wanted, most of which he probably wasn't allowed. Except... "... Blank?"

"Yo?" Blank looked up.

"Are you 18?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Fucking depends, doesn't it?"

"Can you go into town and get me some smokes?"

Saphira made a strange noise, which Keiran ignored.

Blank raised an eyebrow. "I ain't fucking buying them for you."

"No, I know, I have money."

"Alright then. When?"

"Today?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and sighed. "Yeah, I can do that, if you fucking pay me back. How many?"

"20s - Any sort'll do." Keiran said gratefully, feeling slightly cheered.

"Why don't you- oh right, you're grounded... Why can't Darius do it?"

"I don't think he approves of smoking."

They both looked at Darius consideringly; he narrowed his eyes and made a disapproving noise through his nose.

"I think you're right." Blank observed. He sat back with a sigh. "Alright, fucker. I'll get you your smokes – but I'm taking one as payment-"

Match hit him. "No you most certainly are _not."_

"Ow, fuck off! Alright! Hell! I won't then!" he said, fending off another blow.

"Smoking is bad for you, you know." Saphira said, very quietly, to her plate.

Keiran winced - he'd been worried about this. He swivelled and took her hand in his. "Look, Saph- just bear with me on this... I really need this, just this once." _And it's either that or sleeping with you..._

She looked at him, her eyes rather sad. "I just don't want you hurting yourself."

"I'm not, really. One or two smokes aren't going to kill me." Keiran said. _Much._

"I suppose I can't really stop you anyway..."

Keiran wilted. "No... Not really..." he muttered guiltily.

"So, Keiran. What's the letter for?" asked Chris, looking very smug as he strolled up behind him.

"If you _must _know, it's my punishment for failing to break your jaw." Keiran said with a sigh, handing the letter to him over his shoulder without looking up.

Chris read it silently, then dropped it back onto the table with a snort. "Three weeks is hardly enough."

"If you'd like I could _actually _break your jaw. I'm sure then I'd be grounded for longer, if that's what you want," droned Keiran, carefully folding the letter and replacing it in its envelope.

"..." said Chris, and he turned on his heel and marched off. And tripped over a lunatic that had been following its master out of the hall. "Fucking-!"

Keiran snorted into his fist, quickly turning his laugh into a cough as Lord Ishikawa looked over to see what all the commotion was about. Chris quickly stopped swearing at the lunatic's owner and left, Shiz close behind.

"... I'm gonna go study." Keiran said shortly afterwards, laying down his fork and getting to his feet.

"But you haven't eaten anything!" Saphira protested.

"I'm not hungry."

She gazed at him in concern. "I'll be up in a minute, okay?"

Keiran smiled at her softly. "Take your time."

"Oi," said Blank. "Where will you be? So I can give you your damn smokes."

"Um. Bedroom, I guess." Keiran said, running a hand through his hair. "I don't wanna be in the common room if that's where Chris is."

"Bloody oath." Blank narrowed his eyes, cast a glance at Match and scribbled something down on a napkin, which he folded and passed to Keiran. "Don't read it in here."

Match scowled at him. "I know you're plotting something."

"Don't you trust me?"

"Stupid question."

With a last reassuring smile at Saphira, Keiran headed for the exit, imagining Saphira leaning over to ask Darius or even Blank what was wrong with him after he had gone. Keiran hardly knew himself; he had been mood swinging a lot over the last couple of days. Was there a male equivalent of pms?

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and brushed against Blank's note; he tugged it out:

'_I still want that smoke._'

Keiran grinned, sidestepped a pet Alice that was sweeping the floor, and headed upstairs.

* * *

"Oi retard, catch." Blank said.

"Huh?" Keiran was then hit in the head by the flying cigarette pack. "Ouch." Rubbing his forehead, he bent to retrieve them. "…They're open."

Blank sat down heavily on the edge of Keiran's bed, pulling a cigarette from his pocket with a grin. "'Took my payment."

Keiran shrugged and placed one of his own in the corner of his mouth, then fished around in his bedside table for a lighter, and some money to pay Blank back. "Thank you very much."

"No sweat."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" yelled Darius, bursting into the room.

Keiran paused in the act of lighting his cigarette. "Smoking?"

"Not in here you aren't! If you must kill yourself, go _outside_." he shooed them both out of the bedroom and slammed the door.

"... I think we just found out one of Darius' pet peeves." Keiran said, looking at the door blankly.

"Looks that way, don't it." Blank agreed. "Where to, gov'?"

"Spare bedroom?"

"Sounds bloody good to me."

With his pack of smokes in one hand and the lighter in the other, Keiran led the way to one of the few of the many spare bedrooms that was actually unlocked and made himself comfortable on a bed by the window.

Blank shoved the window open and slouched against the wall, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag. "Fuck that's good..."

"Do you smoke often?" Keiran asked curiously, trying to persuade his lighter to work. "Fuck."

"Here." Blank tossed his one over. "Nah, not since I've been with Match anyway. He doesn't approve."

"Then we're in the same boat." Keiran said, finally lighting his smoke. He took a deep pull, relishing in the feel of the smoke swirling in his lungs and sighed happily, leaning back against the wall. "That _is_ good."

Blank grunted. "And you? Smoke much?"

"I used to."

"Used to? You're what, 18? Fuck, when did you start?"

"When I was 13." Now that he thought about it, that was really too early to be getting into such things...

Blank whistled in amazement. "And here I was thinking you were a fucking goody-good."

"Was that before or after I hit Chris?" Keiran grinned.

"Before, duh." Blank said with a thin smile. "Shit, what happened there anyway? I mean- I know he was being a fucking dick with Saph and shit all day but still..."

"I dunno..."

Blank suddenly grinned and took the cigarette from his mouth. "You're not getting any, are ya?"

Keiran stared out the window. "No... No, I'm not."

"Man. That must suck." He said, sounding more sympathetic than he looked. "Did she turn you down?"

"Oh no. I just haven't pressed her."

"Jesus, you've done bloody well in that case. It's no surprise you're losing it."

"I'm not losing it. I'm still good..." Keiran said, more to himself than to Blank, and puffed on his smoke sulkily.

"How long d'you think you'll be able to last?"

"No idea. I told myself I'd wait another month before I made a move..."

"Shit you must love her."

Keiran smiled vaguely. "Yeah, I do."

Blank chuckled – an interesting sound from him, and smushed his stub of a cigarette into the window sill. "Mind if I have another?"

"Go ahead." Keiran said, offering the pack. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"I 'spose you could." Blank said, lighting up.

"Have you always been gay, or did you just wake up one day and decide you preferred guys, or what?" Keiran asked, then added: "I don't mean to be rude at all – you don't have to answer if you don't want to, I'm just curious."

Blank observed him thoughtfully for a moment, and said; "I realised I wasn't attracted to women when I was 16, when this chick at a party pretty much offered herself to me and I just didn't care. I was too busy trying to get my best friend as drunk as possible so he wouldn't notice me coming onto him." He gave Keiran a _look._

"I wasn't coming onto Darius." Keiran said thickly.

"Oh really." Blank raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, _really_."

"You rather looked like you were enjoying that kiss," said Blank airily.

Keiran fidgeted, turning away from him. Damn Blank was sharp…

"You can tell me, you know." he said, so softly that Keiran fumbled the lighter in surprise and dropped it while he tried to light another smoke. "I'm not going to tell anyone else."

"What is there to tell? You already know it."

"Just say it. It'll make you feel better."

_Will it really? _

"And what do you gain from this?"

Blank shrugged. "Nothing really. I'll just know I was right."

Keiran snorted.

"And you will have someone to talk to when it gets too much to bear."

Keiran looked at him; his expression was gentle and sincere. It was strange to think that someone who swore as much as Blank and was so angry all the time had this softer side to him that was just nagging at Keiran to tell him everything (and was just a little scary…). After all, it sounded like Blank had gone through something similar, so why not... And it's not like he _would_ tell anyone – the only person he talked to was Match, and Match wasn't one to gossip…

"I think... I have a crush on Darius." Keiran said slowly, biting his lip as his gut wrenched strangely.

Blank smiled softly, very unlike his usual leer. "That wasn't too hard was it, dumb arse?"

"No, I guess not. I just feel stupid now."

"There's no reason to. It's really common for gay and bi people to fall in love with their best friends."

Keiran felt the heat rise to his face. "I wouldn't say I'm in love with him-" _Shit. Was telling Blank such a good idea after all? _

"Oh I wasn't saying you were, sorry." Blank grinned. "I will say, though – try not to err fuckin- think about him too much more that way, at least if you're wanting to stay with Saphira. She might act like she's okay with it, but she won't _stay_ okay with it."

"I hadn't planned on it. It's not like I want to, you know, _like_ Darius..." Keiran muttered, coughing as he inhaled slightly too much smoke. "Anyway, why the hell am I taking counselling from _you_!"

Blank grinned and shrugged. "'Cause I'm the only gay guy for miles around who's willing to listen to your fucking problems?"

"Psh. What about Match?"

He laughed. "Could you imagine that? He'd just fucking blush and mutter vaguely into his collar. ...And he's bi, not gay."

"Oh is he really?" Keiran asked, arching an eyebrow.

"So he says-"

"I thought I told you to go _outside?_" Darius said, marching into the room.

"Oooh fucking _busted_." Blank sniggered. His leer faded as Match appeared in the doorway behind Darius.

"Busted." Keiran whispered with a grin.

"Give me those." Darius commanded, and snatched the cigarette pack from Keiran, who wailed and tried to take them back.

"Nooo, I need those!" Keiran whined; Darius plucked the lit cigarette from between his fingers and ground it into the stone.

"You do not _need_ them. And until you learn what outside means, you won't be seeing them again." Darius spun on his heel and marched out of the room, Keiran in hot pursuit.

"But it's raining!"

"I never said you had to stand in the middle of a field." Darius said, easily dodging Keiran as he made a swipe for the cigarettes. "Give it a rest!"

Keiran slid to a halt, startled by Darius' icy tone, and watched him disappear into their room. Behind him he could hear Match yelling at Blank – he sounded very mad, and decided that he should probably apologise, though for what he didn't know...

Slowly he made his way to the bedroom where he crawled onto his bed, just realising how tired he was; Darius was sitting in bed, his book open on his knees as usual, the cigarettes nowhere to be seen.

"Um..." said Keiran.

"You're not getting them back." Darius said, not looking up.

"I wasn't going to ask for them back. I mean- I want them back, but it's probably best I don't have them really. I don't want to get addicted again and-"

Darius sighed and put his book down, and Keiran broke off mid-ramble.

"... I'm sorry." he muttered.

"No, don't be. I really have no right to say you can't smoke if you want to. I just hate to think you're shortening your life for such a reason." He sighed again. "Having never smoked, I can't say whether it's true or not, but they say smoking can have a calming effect – is that why you do it?"

Keiran nodded. "It helps me take my mind off... things."

"Such as the Crusader exams?"

"Yeah." _And sex, _Keiran's mind added.

"Don't worry about it." Darius smiled kindly. "We can take the exams again in January."

"What do you mean? _We?" _Keiran asked, staring at him in disbelief. "You could easily pass the exam this time around."

He shrugged. "It won't be much fun if I'm the only one advancing."

"You're going to _fail?_ On purpose?"

"I wouldn't say I'm going to fail – I'm just not going do well enough to pass."

"But- but..." Keiran spluttered. "_Why_?"

"I told you – I don't think becoming a Crusader by myself would be half as much fun as if I had some company."

_He's mad, _Keiran thought, gaping at him. "But, won't your dad be annoyed?"

Darius rubbed his chin and stared at the roof. "Hum. We-ell..." Then he fixed Keiran with a sly grin. "Screw him."

Keiran nearly fell off the bed. He righted himself, blinking furiously as Darius laughed. "Wow."

"It would seem your vulgarity is finally starting to rub off on me, hmm?" Darius said, fishing his pyjamas out of the drawer.

"That's not necessarily a good thing." Keiran muttered weakly, watching Darius leave. And then Blank's comment about Lord Ishikawa came back to him in a rush:

'_Gotta make sure you don't taint his perfect heir, doesn't he?_'

"..." said Keiran, "Shit."

...


	16. Part 16: Course Counselling

More short chapters D: Why are they all so tiny? What do you guys think? Longer or shorter chapters? D:

Thanks for reading~ Feel free to ask questions if you want. I love discussing the story and characters more than anything else. :3 Tell me who you like, who you don't, anything :D

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

The week passed very slowly for Keiran, and when Friday rolled around bringing another field trip; this one he couldn't go on, it slowed to snail's pace. Watching Darius and the others all marching off after Kuronosu with their shields and swords and leaving him behind, he seriously regretted getting on the wrong side of Lord Ishikawa, not for the first time.

To make matters worse it seemed he was doomed to _stay_ on the wrong side of him.

Only that morning Keiran had been rushing to breakfast when he'd dashed around a corner rather too sharply and ran face to face (or more like face to chest) with a rather large, pink, _naked_ woman with a long snake tail in place of legs – an Isis pet. As he had been extracting his head from between her extremely large breasts while she hissed, he heard Lord Ishikawa's voice from behind him, sounding less than impressed. Keiran had been lucky and knew the Crusader that owned the Isis and with his help had got away without any extra punishment, but Lord Ishikawa had looked so sour he was sure it would come back to him sometime...

He was also convinced that the Lord had been watching some of their classes without anyone knowing – he seemed to know far more about the swordsmen's abilities than he should have been able to deduce from watching one class, that and Keiran kept spotting him watching Darius during dinner through very narrow eyes as if trying to work something out...

With a sigh Keiran moved away from the window on the first floor. What was he going to do all day? Darius and Saphira had offered to stay behind to keep him company, but he had declined – it was his own fault he was grounded anyway, they shouldn't have to suffer with him.

"Keiran, sir!"

"Hey Xin..." Keiran muttered, turning to face the Paladin as he jogged up behind him.

Xin looked at him curiously. "Aren't you going with the others, sir?"

"Nah – grounded."

"What? Why, Sir?"

"Remember that fight I mentioned?"

Xin nodded.

"Yeah, well." Keiran sighed and headed downstairs – might as well do the stables now before it got too hot...

Thankfully Xin didn't ask any more awkward questions and followed Keiran quietly down to the stables.

"... Sir?" he asked when they arrived, "may I ask a question?"

"Shoot."

"How long are you grounded for?"

"Another two and a half weeks." Keiran replied, stripping his shirt off and hanging it on a nail.

"But the Crusader exams-!" Xin started, horrified.

"Yeah I know..."

"Who assigned your punishment? This shouldn't be allowed- I will speak to them on your behalf."

Keiran dumped a pitchfork into a wheelbarrow and headed off for the stall he had finished at yesterday. "Lord Ishikawa himself."

Xin gaped, then quickly closed his mouth and trotted after him. "Sir, forgive me, I don't understand why Lord Ishikawa would deliberately make it difficult for you- but if I can help in any way, I would be most happy to."

"I don't think-" Keiran stopped. "Actually-" He'd just had an idea... But how to ask for such a favour?

"Sir, you know you can ask anything of me." Xin said with a smile.

_Yes, but that doesn't mean it's right..._ "Are you able to... err... help me with my magnum break? Of course if you're too busy or-"

"Of course, sir." Xin swept into a bow. "And any other skill you may need assistance with."

"Thank you, very much." Keiran said, immensely grateful. Maybe he would be able to become a Crusader this time after all?

"The pleasure is all mine," he said, bowing again. "Should you need me I will usually be in the nursery. If I'm not, someone who is there will know where to find me."

"Oh, thank you. How are your chicks doing?"

Xin's face lit up. "They are doing very well, sir! They have grown so much!" He held out his hands at the approximate size and Keiran whistled appreciatively. "Soon they will be going outside for the first time, and then-"

As Keiran mucked out, Xin followed, keeping him amused with his stories of rides he had been on where important people had done _this_, resulting in _that _person falling off, and helping him out with gates and even mucking out with him. By the end of the three hours (Ilyn was keeping track, as usual. Did she live in the stables?), Keiran felt that maybe Xin was finally starting to relax around him and be himself – it appeared that Xin's real personality was quite childish, but kind and polite, and easily excited, laughing freely at Keiran's jokes.

Exhausted, Keiran briefly went to visit the baby pecos with Xin; they really had grown, then bid him farewell for a few hours to rest and have lunch before meeting up with him again for their first lesson... Class... Session. Thing.

Keiran, feeling most cheered, practically skipped upstairs to wash, humming loudly and tunelessly to himself and greeting everyone he passed. Waving merrily up at Nwalya on the floor above, who raised an eyebrow, Keiran turned off and slipped into the bathroom, where there was a Paladin standing in front of the mirror, doing their hair.

"Oh, good day," said the man, turning around. Keiran stared – he only had one arm, the sleeve of his tunic knotted just below his left shoulder guard. "I thought the swordsmen had a field trip today?"

"Er, everyone else went... (Sir?)" Keiran said, trying to force his eyes away without much luck. He'd seen people with missing limbs before, of course – it was a common occurrence in a sword slinging guild – almost as common as scars, which this guy had a few of too, but Keiran had never had to talk to one before... Instead he tried staring at the guy's hair, which was dark green, streaked a little grey with age. Keiran hazarded a guess and decided, based on the man's age (early 50's?) and build, he must be one of Lord Ishikawa's guards.

"Oh... Then you must be Keiran?"

"Yes sir." _Awesome, so now not only does everyone know my name, but they know I'm grounded too..._

"No need for formalities, they make me feel old." He inclined his head. "Since I know your name, it's only fair you know mine – Sir Chase Missano at your service."

"Um." said Keiran, still holding the door handle. He considered running away, but quickly shoved that idea aside and stepped into the bathroom. "Pleased to meet you, Sir Missano."

"Call me Chase." He smiled easily. "Shall I wait outside for you and we can grab lunch together?"

"Um, sure?"

"It's a date then."

Keiran bowed, trying not to flinch as Chase strode past, his missing arm disturbingly close to his face. Then he stared at the closed door. _What the hell does one of Lord Ishikawa's guard, if that's what he is, want with me? _Was it all some evil ploy to find out if Keiran was manipulating Darius? Or was Chase truly as friendly as he seemed? And why was he thinking this way – that everyone was suddenly a spy for Lord Ishikawa? _Damn you Blank. _Either way it would be extremely impolite to refuse a request from someone so much higher in the guild than himself...

Quickly he washed up and flattened his hair in attempt to look more civilised, straightened his tunic and dashed out.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Sir."

Chase straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall and smiled. "Not a problem, Keiran."

Keiran fell into place behind him as he led the way downstairs, still trying to work him out. "Sir?"

"Just Chase will do."

"Yes sir. I mean- sorry sir- Ah." Keiran cursed himself mentally. "Sorry."

Chase chuckled lightly. "I understand, don't worry. It's a hard habit to break once you've got it. ... At least it's a good one to have." He patted Keiran on the shoulder. "You were saying?"

"Um, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, yes. I was going to pull you up later to say this, but since we seemed destined to meet in the bathroom..." He stopped short and turned to face Keiran, who watched him warily. "I was watching you spar with Darius Ishikawa" (_ah, so they _are_ watching us secretly...)_ "yesterday, and to say the least I was utterly astonished – your shield work- where did you learn those moves?"

Keiran frowned a little. "I learnt them from a book, and adapted them a bit..."

"Aaah." The Paladin nodded and smiled. "Do you remember the name of that book?"

"Um... No, I'm sorry, I don't."

"Was it possibly _A Look at Advanced Shield Techniques_?"

"It might have been." Keiran said slowly.

"You should dig it out at some point and have another look," Chase said, smiling knowingly. "Anyway. Your moves are something to be treasured. ...I, of course, can't use a shield anymore," he nodded to his missing limb, "but before I lost my arm, I used my shield to its full potential, as it should be – a value our guild is starting to forget over the years... Yes, we still use shields, and we have skills solely for their use, but it is rare to find anyone in the younger generations that can utilise both sword and shield offensively in face to face combat. Sir Kuronosu, I noticed, is teaching you and your classmates to use both, and this makes me glad he offered to teach this year, but you..." he smiled. Keiran by now was feeling very uncomfortable. "You have something special, which our guild needs if it is to stay strong. And as such, you will have my letter of recommendation when you decide to become a Paladin."

Keiran said nothing for a long minute, then said, very slowly, "thank you... but, letter of recommendation..? What do you mean?"

"Ah, has no one told you how you can become a Paladin?"

"No, I guess it's because we're not even Crusaders yet."

"Possibly. However I believe you are entitled to know how the guild runs in every aspect... Similar to the Crusader selection, the Paladin selection also consists of an exam of three parts – written, melee, and skills," (_ah, so my hunch was right,_ thought Keiran) "but in addition to this, a Crusader must also have the recommendation of three Paladins who must have been as such for at least three years and have perfect mastery over at least one skill, in the form of a written letter to be presented to the Guild leader. When your time comes, I will present my letter to our Lord Ishikawa as one of your three, if you will have it."

Keiran stared up into his sincere, weathered face with its steady smile; he was being completely serious... "I- ...Of course, thank you. Very much," he stammered, and bowed.

"No, thank you." Chase said, "However, this doesn't come for free."

_Of course it doesn't... _But Chase's smile was still in place. Keiran bowed again, "yes sir, what is it I can do?"

"Promise me, Keiran..." he said, taking Keiran by the shoulder gently. "When you become a Paladin – become an instructor and teach all those who will follow you how to fight as a Paladin should – with sword _and _shield."

Keiran nodded, deciding not to point out that a Paladin should actually fight with and for God. "I promise."

Chase straightened slowly, looking somewhat relieved and resumed walking. "I'm very glad to hear that..."

After a minute of following silently, watching Chase's sleeve wave hollowly, Keiran could take it no longer. "Sir- Chase?"

"Yes?"

"May I ask a question? Well, two."

"You may."

"... Why were you in the swordsmen's bathroom?" Keiran asked, "Surely you have one... Of course you're perfectly entitled-"

Chase laughed. "Yes, we have bathrooms higher up the castle, but I was coming down for lunch and suddenly I felt the need for it – and your one was closest."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"And your other question?" Chase prompted gently.

"I apologise if my asking offends you in any way... But, sir, your arm-"

"Ah yes, I thought that might be it."

"I'm sorry-"

"Oh no, don't be, I don't mind talking about it at all. Scars gained in battle are ones to be proud of, are they not? My scar is just a little more obvious than most." Chase rubbed what was left of his arm thoughtfully. "It was during a brief period of civil unrest, going back 20 or so years now – I think I was 32 – and we Paladins had been called in as crowd control... Unfortunately for us, much of the mob was armed, and they were all very angry; many of my companions were dragged from their pecos and set upon as I watched, then I too was pulled to the ground. I lost my arm, and gained these" he pointed to the three long scars marking his face "and several more before reinforcements arrived and drove the crowd back. Three of my closest friends died that day." He looked sad for a moment, then brightened again. "I like to say that each of these scars is for one of them. It helped me get through those nights when the pain was too awful to bear."

Keiran remained silent; having never suffered the loss of a close friend or relative, nor received any significant injury, he couldn't even begin to imagine what the Paladin had gone through...

"But you don't want to hear about the past troubles of an old man!" Chase said suddenly. "I remembered something else I was going to speak to you of, relating to what were discussing before: have you considered which skills you will focus on as a Paladin? I realise all this won't concern you for a few years, but it never hurts to know in advance, I find."

He had to break off there as they entered the dining hall for lunch – the noise was rather intense and made civilised conversation difficult. Lord Ishikawa was mysteriously absent, but his entourage were all seated, chatting away like the rest of the guild.

Chase nodded in greeting to them as they hailed him, but led Keiran down to the less full end of the hall and seated himself, beckoning him to sit opposite and waited patiently for Keiran to say grace. He then tugged off his glove with his teeth and helped himself to several slices of watermelon, saying: "have you given it any thought?"

"Erm... I was considering devotion..?" Keiran said hesitantly – was there a right or wrong answer to the question? - And went about making himself a sandwich.

"Hm." Chase itched his chin, creating a rasping noise as his weathered skin rubbed against his stubble. "Now, the problem we have with specialising solely in devotion is that, to be effective, you must be in a party with members of other job classes – it doesn't work on fellow crusaders. You didn't know?" he added at Keiran's surprised look. "Yes, for whatever reason, we cannot take the damage of our fellow guildsmen... Therefore, if you are travelling in a guild party, and you only have mastery of devotion, you might as well be useless, in terms of skills. What many devotion Paladins choose to do is also master a skill called sacrifice – less commonly known as Martyr's Reckoning."

Keiran realised he had been listening so intently that his butter knife was still hovering above the margarine, and he quickly buttered his bread and set the knife down. "What is that, sir?"

"It is an attack that concentrates our own life force into our blade to be released upon our enemies when they are struck. It is very powerful – so powerful in fact that many Paladins who try to master it kill themselves accidentally before they do so."

"H-how?" Keiran spluttered in horrified disbelief.

"It is very difficult to control just how much energy you are putting into the strike - if you put too much of yourself into it, or strike one too many times... it is all over."

Keiran digested this slowly. He knew that being a Paladin meant having to use a lot of life-draining skills that were potentially suicidal, but using something so risky and unpredictable was just asking for trouble... Therefore he was immediately curious to learn more.

"Yes, I think you would do well as a devotion Paladin." Chase said in a sort of final way. "Closer to the time I would recommend you speak to Sir Kuronosu, and he will point you in the direction of the current devotion experts so you can get a more expert opinion."

"Thank you, sir, I will." Keiran said.

"I can see I've given you much to think about – I shan't bother you with anything else until next we meet, which may not be for a very long time..." Chase stood up; Keiran blinked up at him - he was leaving, already? But lunch... Chase's plate contained the very empty rinds of three slices of watermelon, how had he eaten it so fast? And with only one hand? "Until next time." Chase held out his hand across the table, and Keiran quickly stood up to shake.

"May God go with you," Keiran said formally.  
Chase smiled, and then he was gone.

Keiran slowly sat back down, now feeling very alone at the giant table with only his sandwich and his thoughts to keep him company – at least he _did_ have plenty to think about. He wished he had someone to tell about everything Chase had said, but he could see the other swordsmen mocking the Paladin, calling him a decrepit old man trying to force his own failed dreams on someone younger... Maybe that was the case, but Keiran had agreed with him – he too felt that shields should be an essential part of a Paladin's offence, and not just for defence; and he had already considered becoming a teacher later in life, once he'd got bored with adventuring... Not to mention if Chase was serious about the letter of recommendation, Keiran would owe him one.

Maybe he could just tell Darius – he wouldn't be nasty...

* * *

"Well. That certainly is a stroke of luck for you." Darius said thoughtfully later that day after Keiran had told him everything while they prepared for bed. "With one more letter, you're set to become a Paladin and there's nothing my father can do to stop you."

"_One _more?" Keiran asked. "I only have one. I know you're tired but surely you can still do basic math-"

"Yes but Sir Kuronosu is almost certainly going to write one for you too. Meaning you have two."

"Oh."

Darius sighed, rolling over to face him. It was only 7pm but he was well on his way to sleeping; too tired even to read. Apparently the field trip today had been really intense and all the swordies had complained of aches and pains all through dinner after Lord Ishikawa had announced that he would be departing again in the morning, and that the ban on pets would stay lifted. Keiran too was exhausted – he had spent all afternoon with Xin, who turned out to be a very good teacher once he stopped apologising for telling Keiran what to do, practising his skills and having mini duels with him in attempt to utilise everything he had learnt.

"I can't believe, of all the people you could have caught the attention of, it would be Chase..." Darius said, gazing at Keiran.

Keiran stared back blankly. "You know him?"

"He's one of my father's personal guard-"

"Ah I thought so!"

"-and also one of his oldest and most trusted advisors. With any luck he will be able to persuade Father you're not as awful as he seems to think you are."

_I doubt it._ Keiran thought. Just before dinner Lord Ishikawa had had a go at him about the state of his hair, saying he should either cut it or wear it tied back. Most infuriating about this was that his hair was shorter than Darius, Match and Blank's, and they had all been wearing it loose at the time, and none of them had been told to tie it up. Handily, he didn't have to cut it, as Lord Ishikawa would be gone by the time Keiran got out of bed tomorrow. Haha!

Darius rolled onto his back and winced.

"What's wrong?" Keiran asked curiously. It wasn't often Darius showed signs of discomfort.

"... My shoulders are a little stiff."

"Would you like a massage?"

"No, I'm alright." Darius said, turning away.

"Oh go on. You'll enjoy it." Keiran assured him, sitting up. "Saph says I'm getting really good at them."

"No, really."

"It'll make it easier to sleep~?"

"..." said Darius.

"You know you want to~"

Darius sighed. "Oh alright then." he said resignedly, "do I have to sit up?"

"No-o, but then I'll have to sit on you."

"Excuse me?" Darius gaped at him.

"Across your lower back I mean..." Keiran said. "See; lay on your belly, yep like that. Then I sit _here_." He straddled Darius' waist.

Darius fidgeted. "You're heavy."

"Sorry." Keiran adjusted his weight more onto his knees. "Better?"

"Yes."

"Take your shirt off."

"Why?"

"I can't find the source of the problem through it, can I?"

"...Okay." With some difficulty, Darius removed his pyjama top, and Keiran found himself gazing at the smooth plains of Darius' back.

With a sigh, he brushed Darius' hair aside and set to work, slowly working his way down his spine with his thumbs. "You need to relax."

Darius said nothing, but his shoulders drooped slightly, and Keiran travelled back up and onto his shoulder blades, intrigued by the differences between Darius' hardened muscles and Saphira's much smaller, softer ones. There was a lot more muscle to search to find the cause of the discomfort...

"Ah there it is..." Keiran said, having just felt the knot he was looking for; he dug his thumbs into it, working it out. Darius tensed, rolling his shoulders back in response. Keiran smiled, glad that Darius couldn't see his expression as he tried very hard to keep his mind from wandering and reminding him he was straddling Darius, near perfectly positioned to- _shut up!_, and eased the last of the tension from the muscle, then moved onto the other shoulder, where sure enough there was another knot. He had almost got it out when Darius froze beneath him;

"Okay- stop-" he said, his voice hoarse. "Get off."

"Why? Am I too rough?" Keiran asked, confused.

"No- just get off."

Keiran did so, and retreated to his own bed, staring at the back of Darius' head – he had turned to face the wall in the foetal position as soon as Keiran had moved. Was it just his imagination, or was the little he could see of Darius' cheek rather red..?

"What did I do wrong...?" Keiran asked hesitantly after a moment of trying to work it out.

"Nothing." Darius said, sounding like he had his teeth gritted.

"It doesn't seem like nothing to me."

Darius said nothing.

"Loooook at me?" Keiran said.

Darius didn't move, so Keiran went around the bed to face him instead; Darius immediately rolled over to face the other way, pulling his bed covers up to his waist. However, Keiran had caught a glance of his face, and he _was_ very red. Suddenly he came to a realisation.

"Oh my God, you have a stiffy," he said impulsively, then immediately regretted it.

Darius' shoulders twitched and he curled up tighter, rolling over yet again as Keiran moved across the room.

"I mean- that's alright - it's nothing to be ashamed of- I bet lots of guys get 'em during massages, especially if- I mean..." Keiran trailed off, then cleared his throat. "I'll just go, er... Find that book Chase told me to find! Seeya!"

He ran from the room and slammed the door, leaning against it heavily. He didn't know whether to laugh, or be ashamed, or _what. _

_Oh Jesus, poor Darius..._ _Better give him some space._ Keiran decided and headed for the common room to see if the book on shield techniques was in fact there.

"What's your issue? You look all fucking wound up." Blank said, lounging on the couch as usual with Match snoozing beside him. No one else was there.

"Everyone in bed?" Keiran asked, scanning over the books on the shelves.

"Yeah. Well?"

"None of your business." _Damn it, why are there so many?_

Blank raised an eyebrow. "'s got anything to do with Darius?"

"No comment." Keiran said to the books.

"So it does?"

"No comment."

"I'll take that as a yes." Blank said, absently stroking Match's hair. "What did you do?"

"I- no comment." Keiran said quickly. _It's not something I can tell you – it would be too embarrassing for Darius._ "Ah found it."

He pulled the book from the shelf and looked at the familiar cover. _A Look at Advanced Shield Techniques, by Keegan C. Missano. _

"..." said Keiran. Chase Missano, Keegan Missano, possibly related? ... He would have to ask Darius. He made to head back to the bedroom, then paused. _I'll give him a few more minutes, in case he's..._

"What are you thinking about?" Blank asked. "You're blushing."

Keiran jumped, not realising he was being watched. "Nothing."

"Mmhmm." Blank said sceptically, a sly smile playing around his lips.

"Stop it. You're being mean." Keiran pouted, taking his usual couch and opening the book.

"But harassing you is so much fucking fun." He grinned. "Come on, just tell me."

"Blank, leave him alone..." Match murmured.

Blank pulled a face, but left Keiran to his book in peace for the ten minutes he stayed.

"Goodnight." Keiran said finally, tucking the book under his arm and made for the door.

"Night, retard." Blank stretched, yawning, and gently nudged Match, whose head had drooped onto his chest. "Bedtime, bub."

Keiran left them to it. He knocked softly on their bedroom door; there was no reply, so he let himself in. Darius was fast asleep, his covers pulled up under his chin and a slight frown on his face.

With a rush of relief that he wouldn't have to face Darius again until morning, Keiran pulled the curtains closed and crawled into bed.


	17. Part 17: Oh the stress

**Thanks for reading! :D Please review, comment and I'll love you forever~**

**Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok (c) Gravity**

**

* * *

**

As it turned out, Darius seemed to be pretending the whole thing hadn't happened, and was perfectly normal the next morning when he confirmed that Keegan Missano was Chase Missano's father and had been very talented with a shield in his time, and in the weeks that followed, he made no effort to discuss it, but winced every time anyone said 'massage'.

Five days prior to the Crusader exam, everyone could have done with a massage or three, as tension was running high and the swordsmen had very little time to call their own. Keiran couldn't remember the last time he had held Saphira – his schedule was twice as full as everyone else as he still was expected to spend three hours in the stable, on top of his two classes, his lessons with Xin and his other studies.

He raced to class after a late lunch, clutching his bulging bag to his chest, and skidded to a halt in the courtyard between Darius and Saphira. "Sorry Sir."

"No problem." Sir Kuronosu said. He looked edgy today, and he was wearing his armour – after Lord Ishikawa had left the majority of the guild's population had returned to wearing their casual clothes all day, Kuronosu included. Did this mean Lord Ishikawa was back? Keiran glanced around, but couldn't see him... But there were extra people here today, watching.

"For the rest of the week, we're going to attempt to finish learning the skill Endure," he said slowly. "I've been putting this off for as long as possible, but I just don't think I can get away with it anymore..."

_What..? _Keiran's thoughts seemed to be echoed by everyone else and they exchanged glances.

"You have currently learned up to the equivalent of level six endure. Today, we'll take it one step further..." he took a deep, rather unsteady breath, steeling himself. "If you would please line up, remove the glove from your sword hand, and hold your hand out, palm up."

Silently, the swordsmen did as they were told, some confused, others nervous - only Darius looked composed. Trying to stay collected too, Keiran studied Kuronosu's face which was spasming between guilt and regret, but yet he hadn't done anything to feel that way, had he?

Kuronosu suddenly got down on one knee before then, his head bowed. "Please, forgive me for what I'm about to do... " he whispered, and get slowly to his feet. "Chai, Raphael, if you will, please..."

Two of the watching Paladins stepped forward, the male carrying a basket full of small white bundles. Keiran stopped trying to work out what is was and fixed his attention back on Kuronosu, who was approaching Darius, the first in line.

"...I'm so sorry..." he whispered, taking Darius' outstretched hand firmly by the wrist. It was only then Keiran noticed the dagger clutched in his other hand. What was this madness? He tensed, ready to do anything- knock the dagger from his hand-

"Keiran, don't." Darius said steadily, his eyes fixed on Kuronosu's and his back straight and proud. Keiran bit his lip, but stepped back – if Darius was okay with this then surely he could be? - And watched in horror as Kuronosu dragged the blade quickly across Darius' palm; Darius gave a sharp intake of breath and closed his eyes tightly. A trickle of blood ran down his fingers, and in a flash the female Paladin was winding a bandage around the wound, tying it expertly.

Then Kuronosu was in front of him, his dagger cleaned and ready. Keiran stared at him, aware that he was shaking and paralyzed with fear and shock.

"Keiran, your hand, please..." Kuronosu whispered, meeting his eyes with his own broken expression. Keiran slowly raised his shaking hand and Kuronosu took his wrist securely; he couldn't have pulled his hand back if he tried. "Please forgive me..."

Keiran looked away, and Kuronosu flicked his wrist. The pain hit him suddenly and he gasped, and choked, gazing up at the sky with his teeth gritted while the bandage Paladin did her thing.

She backed off, and Keiran looked down, the pain in his hand now a vague throbbing that stung when he moved his fingers. Already blood was soaking into the bandage, dyeing it red.

"Keiran." Darius said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and tried to lead him away. Keiran stared at him, not moving, and then looked over his shoulder – Kuronosu was standing in front of Saphira.

"No." Keiran said thickly, horror rising in his throat. "No, you can't..."

Darius' grip increased. "Don't watch, don't listen."

"No- Saph-"

"I'm alright." Saphira said, shooting him a nervous, but determined smile. "Don't worry."

Keiran closed his eyes, nodded, and let Darius lead him away, out of sight and hearing range at the far end of the courtyard where another Paladin was waiting.

"Cor, it didn't hurt that much did it?" she said, taking in Keiran's despondent stance.

"His girlfriend was next in line." Darius said quietly.

"Oh." She shot Keiran a sympathetic look. "I found that too – it's not so much the physical pain you have to endure, but the pain of having your instructor turn on you and hurt you and your friends..."

_Oh so this is a common occurrence?_

"Anyway." said the Paladin. "The name's Jewel; I'm here as backup in case the pain is too much to handle. You guys are now expected to spend the next hour with sword in hand, duelling or practising your drills – whatever you like, so long as you hold onto your sword. Remember the idea is to let the pain become nothing more than background noise. Off you go."

Keiran wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword tentatively, wincing as it pressed against the bandage and in turn the cut. With a deep breath he drew it and spun to face Darius.

"Don't you dare go easy on me." he hissed, apparently turning his pain into anger.

Darius bowed his head in comprehension, disregarding Keiran's harsh tone, and the duel began.

After the first round, Keiran had almost forgotten that his hand was split open, so focused he was on disarming Darius. Of course, he had told him not to hold back and Darius was doing just that, meaning Keiran didn't have a hope of winning, but it all had the desired effect regardless – he endured the pain, and he forgave Kuronosu. Instead of hating him, Keiran found himself feeling immensely sorry for him – to betray the students who had looked up to you for so long to do something so awful but yet necessary if they were to advance as Crusaders... It must have been so hard.

By the time Jewel told them they could stop, Keiran's bandage was completely saturated with blood and was starting to drip down his sword. When she took it off for him, it stung with renewed passion, and he chewed his lip as she sponged it clean and healed it until there was nothing but a faint red line. This, she said, would probably scar; she showed them her own palm, marked with faded white lines, and wished them luck for the next few lessons.

They went back to the others, all of whom were rather subdued, fingering their palms and glancing around as if expecting someone to jump on them or something. Keiran marched straight up to Saphira and pulled her into his arms; she clung to him, burying her face in his tunic as he subconsciously checked her over for other injuries, which of course there were none of, but it made him feel better to do it all the same.

And then it was off to meet Xin in the stables for his skill study, then mucking out, and then up to the common room to study theory before dinner, and then sparring with Darius again before a shower and bed.

The next two days followed a very similar pattern, and the swordsmen added another two long scars to their palms – or not if they were lucky enough to have had Kuronosu cut over their old one. Poor Kuronosu was looking more and more worn with each day, as if he wasn't getting much sleep. He had even stopped attending meals, and Keiran overheard a Crusader saying he was spending all of his time in the Chapel praying. Keiran wished he could do something to let him know that they didn't hate him- that most if not all of them had forgiven him (he wasn't too sure about Chris and Shiz, nor Yule, who had not been impressed with the news that the wounds would scar.)

Kuronosu had told them that their fourth lesson would take place inside, in a spare office on the first floor and they were to come one at a time. He had looked very ill when he had said this, and the swordsmen were not looking forward to it at all.

They waited in the common room quietly, nervously trying to start half-hearted conversations that withered away into nothingness. Kiba had gone first, about 20 minutes ago, and Keiran had spent the whole time pacing up and down, severely annoying the Paladin who was keeping time and had the order they were to go in. It was his own fault really – he had said Keiran was next, and he couldn't bear the nerves sitting still, so he had to keep moving.

"Alright! You can go already!" the Paladin said, opening the door for him.

Keiran stalked out and downstairs, rather hoping to see Kiba so he could ask what was in store. However he saw not a soul the entire way to the office, partially because a lot of the Crusaders were out training for the Paladin exams in a few days. He knocked hesitantly on the door...

"Come in." Kuronosu's voice said.

Swallowing nervously, Keiran let himself in and slid into the chair in front of the desk Kuronosu was sitting behind. Behind _him _were several Paladins, all looking less than happy to be there.

"Keiran..." Kuronosu closed his eyes and breathed slowly a few times, then opened them again and set them on Keiran. "Please could you remove your glove and set your sword hand palm down on the desk."

Keiran did so, and suddenly he was surrounded by Paladins. He panicked, trying to pull his hand back, only to find several other hands were holding it securely in place. He stared at Kuronosu, who gazed back with regret and gradually remembered the Paladin didn't want to do any of this any more than the swordsmen did; he willed himself to relax, and Kuronosu waved a few of the other Paladins away, so there was only one holding his hand, and one hovering directly behind him.

Kuronosu stood up, his dagger once more in his hand. "I'm so very sorry..." he muttered, for what must have been the hundredth time over the last few days. "This is going to hurt, but please try to relax."

With his heart pounding in his ears, Keiran willed himself once more to relax, and Kuronosu said a quick prayer, crossed himself, and plunged his dagger straight into the back of Keiran's hand.

Keiran jerked forward, just catching his scream of pain in his throat and turning it into a harsh groan, staring at the knife sticking out of his twitching hand in shock. Kuronosu quickly tugged it out, holding Keiran's hand down, and sat down heavily as the bandage Paladin hurried over to bind Keiran's freely bleeding hand. He didn't move at all, even after she had moved away, but sat bent forwards with his forehead an inch from the desk, his hair trailing in his own blood, gasping as every tiny movement sent a wave of anguish up his arm.  
"Keiran?" Kuronosu said.

Keiran raised his head very slightly.

"Try to endure it."

He nodded, bit his lip until it bled, and forced his hand closed into a fist; he didn't make more than the tiniest of whimpers despite the intensity of the pain, instead he screamed inside his head.

"Can you please duel Micra here?" Kuronosu nodded to one of the Paladins, who stepped forward as Keiran dragged himself upright, taking his sword very gingerly in his injured hand.

The female Paladin bowed, and Keiran bowed back, and within seconds she had disarmed him, leaving Keiran gasping in pain and clutching his hand to his chest.

"Endure the pain." she said quietly, handing his sword back to him.

Keiran took it, trying to tighten his grip around the hilt, but it just _hurt so much_. She disarmed him again and again, leaving him in agony until he finally dropped to his knees and refused to move, his hand pulled protectively close.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Kuronosu said, his voice strained.

The bandage was removed, the wound cleaned and healed, and he was dismissed by another Paladin while Kuronosu leaned his forehead against the windowpane, refusing to look around.

Keiran dragged himself from the room. He didn't know what to do; he didn't know what to _think_. Had he failed this? It was sort of like a test... Or would he get another chance tomorrow? Would he be able to do better? He flexed his fingers experimentally; there was no pain now, but his mind could quite easily make him believe it was there. He winced and continued down the stairs. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he wanted to go outside, and so that's where he went.

He stepped out into the sun in the courtyard and was vaguely surprised to see Kiba sitting under a tree in the grass, staring blankly at the castle wall and rubbing the back of his hand.

"Hey." Keiran said, sitting beside him.

"Hey," he replied dully.

"How did you go?"

Kiba blinked at him. "How did _you _go?"

Keiran shook his head. "I couldn't even hold the sword."

"Neither. I might as well have dropped it for her." Kiba sighed and leaned back. "You don't think this affects our results for the exam do you?"

"I hope not."

They lapsed into silence, both lost in their own thoughts, and some 20 minutes later they were joined by Match, who admitted that he hadn't even been able to stand up for the pain.

Steadily the rest of the swordsmen trickled out, (why they all instinctively came outside, Keiran didn't know) until finally Saphira came out, having been last on the list, and collapsed into Keiran's arms, holding him almost painfully tightly. The first thing she said when she had released him, her eyes rather red, was; "you have blood in your hair."

It turned out the furthest anyone had got was disarming the Paladin Micra once, and that was Blank and he admitted it was only because he was so mad he forgot he had a hole in his hand; Kuronosu had reminded him that the idea wasn't to mask the pain in anger, as this also clouded judgement. Out of the girls, only Chakii had been able to stand before Micra and had been disarmed so quickly she might as well have not bothered. For once Darius hadn't outshone the others and from the sound of it had had a similar time as Keiran – standing up only to find his hand refused to grip the sword tight enough to prevent it being torn from his grasp.

The general lack of success seemed to brighten everyone's moods somewhat and they headed off to study (or in Keiran's case, the stables) feeling slightly less useless.

Sir Kuronosu didn't come to their morning class the next day.

"He's... busy." Grobyc said evasively when asked where he was, and informed them they were to use the class for study, which he would supervise.

Not much study got done however, as Grobyc refused to stop talking and after inquiring how they had all gone with their endure lessons, recounted his own memories of learning the skill.

"Yes indeed. When my old teacher did the ... hand thing" he mimed a stabbing action above his other hand "I screamed like a little girl and called poor Sir Levi a most delightful variety of names – he was not happy, of course. I don't know why Sir Kuronosu insisted upon doing it this year, to be honest... Much easier to have left it to Sir Levi, sadistic old fart that he is..." he muttered affectionately. Keiran wasn't sure having a sadist stab him would be preferable to having Kuronosu do it. At least you could tell Kuronosu wasn't taking any pleasure from watching his students writhe in pain.

"Don't hate Sir Kuronosu for it, will you?" Grobyc added. "The poor guy's having a real hard time with this as it is..." he looked skywards for a moment, then grinned. "What _really _got me was just how hygienic is the whole process? I mean, sure Sir Kuronosu cleans his dagger between each person, but what about the residual blood and the blood on the desk? It's just asking for HIV or Hepatitis or whichever one it is." Leaving them with this charming thought to ponder, he then went on to give them all some pointers on how to hold their swords in a specific way that was difficult to break, but didn't aggravate the wound too much, and so the swordsmen waited in the common room again for their turn feeling a little more confident. Keiran had resolved that he would try his hardest, but if he couldn't disarm Micra he wouldn't beat himself up over it.

"Where's Natalie?" Chris asked suddenly, breaking the tense silence.

Keiran looked around, and indeed, she wasn't there, "... but Yule is the only person who's gone..."

"She's not doing it." said Chakii, filing her nails down to nothing.

"Why?"

"She doesn't want to."

Chris stared at her. "You can not do it just because you don't want to?"

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "But then you don't know endure properly. And being a Crusader, you need to know how to endure as much pain as possible."

Chris fell silent.

"Chaku, you're up next," the Paladin with the list said.

Chaku jumped.

"Good luck." Keiran said with a smile. She smiled shyly back and left. Keiran admired her courage – she was probably the 'softest' of the girls, and yet she was still ploughing on with this even after someone else who was possibly stronger than her had given up.

"Keiran... You're next." List-guy said some 20 minutes later.

Keiran leapt to his feet and charged from the room, eager to get it over and done with so he could concentrate on studying for his written exam tomorrow morning.

Kuronosu called him into the office in a barely audible voice, and Keiran threw himself into the chair so enthusiastically that the Paladin stared at him for a good minute before telling him the remove his glove and place his hand on the table – only to find Keiran had already done so, his face set.

"That's a good attitude to have..." Kuronosu said with a slight smile. Then he got to his feet and pinned Keiran's hand firmly down with his own, drawing his dagger with his other.

It hurt just as much as it did yesterday, but this time Keiran stayed curled up only until the Paladin had bandaged his hand, his teeth gritted in determination, and then he was on his feet, looking for his opponent.

"...Micra." Kuronosu said, looking faintly astonished as Keiran drew his sword and squared himself up to her when she stepped forward. His hand was throbbing awfully, each time he flexed a finger it sent a wave of pain up his arm, but he somehow pushed it aside, his eyes fixed on the Paladin's as he bowed.

She leapt forward, and Keiran caught her training sword against his own, the impact forcing a hiss through his teeth. She pushed, and he bit his lip, pushing back and screaming internally as the hilt dug into the wound. He was losing ground, consumed by the pain-

He shook himself mentally and tried to forget it again, slipping his sword out from beneath hers and striking at her wrist guard. Wood connected with metal and Keiran flicked his wrist, easily catching her sword under the guard and flipping it from her hand, sending it clattering across the stone.

She held up her empty hands in defeat, and Keiran lowered his sword, breathing heavily, and feeling a little faint; he glanced down to see his hand was dripping blood quite profusely, the bandage having come loose during the duel.

"W-well done!" Kuronosu exclaimed, steering Keiran into the chair and pushed him into a sitting position, standing back so one of the others could clean the wound. Keiran gazed at him, not feeling the cloth wiping the blood from his hand.

"I wasn't expecting any of you to be able to do it today- but you have!" Kuronosu said, looking more animated than Keiran had seen him for a while. "You can't feel the pain anymore, can you?"

Keiran flexed his fingers, and shook his head. "No Sir, my arm is sort of... numb."

"Oh this makes it all worthwhile, thank you." Kuronosu said happily. "Chai, heal him quickly before it wears off."

"Wears off?" Keiran asked dazedly. Then froze – his hand had just made itself known to him again in the form of a very sudden, very excruciating rush of pain. And then it was gone, and Keiran's hand was lost from sight in a cloud of green sparkles.

"Congratulations, Keiran. You have just learnt Endure level 10." said Kuronosu, clapping a stunned Keiran on the shoulder. "Whether you choose to master it completely or leave it as it is up to you now – most people choose to practice it only as they need it, which works very well."

"Thank you Sir..."

One of the other Paladins leaned forward and whispered something in Kuronosu's ear while he stared blankly at the wall, then he blinked.

"Oh, you don't know the theory behind Endure?" he asked, "Aah, you were away sick that week..."

Keiran shrugged; he had no idea. He thought he had covered everything he had missed, but apparently not...

"Endure is a skill, just like any other, but the only way to trigger it for the first time is to gradually force the user to endure annoyances and pain – first by tapping you lightly over the back of the leg while you try to concentrate, then by having you repeatedly hit each other in the shin, all the way up to this." he gestured to the dagger and Keiran's hand, which was still resting on the desk. "By learning to endure the pain for yourself first, it somehow allows the use of the skill, Endure, which completely cancels out the pain, and makes you, as you say, numb for a set period of time. By rights, you should be able to call upon the skill at any time now... You should give it a try duelling one of your friends."

"Ah" Keiran said. "I will."

"Of course, there are setbacks with the skill, but we're on a tight schedule, so you will have to look them up for yourself." Kuronosu checked the clock, and, looking indecently happy, began cleaning Keiran's blood off the desk. "Good luck with your exams."

"Thank you very much Sir." Keiran said, allowing Chai to usher him from the office, from where he could still hear Kuronosu, now humming as he scrubbed the floor. He stared at the wall opposite for a moment, then a huge grin spread across his face and he skipped off to muck out the stables in high spirits, singing the Church hymn Kuronosu had been humming.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keiran awoke bright and early the following morning to see Darius sitting up in bed wearing a vacant expression.

"Nervous?" Keiran asked.

"I guess so."

"It's only a practice, remember?"

Darius looked at him curiously. "You don't think you'll do well enough to become a Crusader this time?"

"Nah, I still haven't managed to get my Magnum Break sorted out, and my provoke's a little unpredictable." Keiran said breezily. He'd come to this conclusion last night, and decided if he didn't think he would pass he wouldn't be as disappointed when he didn't.

"But you have endure." Darius pointed out.

"I don't know that. I haven't tried to use it yet." he replied, feeling a little guilty. Darius hadn't managed to trigger his endure, but then, not many people had.

Apart from Keiran, only Chakii, Match and of all people, Arthur had managed to get the skill to work, but everyone else had made progress too in various ways. Except for Chris, who had thrown a fit and tried to jump on Kuronosu, and had had to be forcibly removed from the room. And the reason the Paladins all wore their armour during these sessions became clear! Chris had been given a week's worth of mucking out to do for his troubles, which had made Keiran laugh so hard he cried. Blank had once again managed to disarm Micra, and not by being angry this time, but for whatever reason hadn't managed to get the skill to work, and so was not happy at all.

Darius shrugged and dragged himself out of bed, going to check the clock. "We have an hour and 20 minutes."

"Enough time for a shower and breakfast, and some last minute cramming!" Keiran exclaimed with indecent cheeriness, wilting only very slightly at the deadpan look Darius gave him. "Hey come on, be happy with me! After all this is over I can go to town! For the first time in THREE WEEKS!"

"Aah, right." Darius said.

"That's not happy!"

"Yay!" Darius said in monotone, raising his arms then letting them drop as he crossed to the dresser.

"Much better~!" Keiran grinned, following him.

"Are you not nervous at all?"

"Of course I am! Why do you think I'm so spastic!"

"Oh, I thought that was just I'm-not-grounded-anymore excitement coming through."

"Of course not!" Keiran said, reaching around Darius to get his clean uniform out. "I'm much too calm for that to be the case!"

"...Okay now you're not even making sense."

Keiran paused, thinking about this. "I'm not?"

"No."

"Oh... Oh well!"

Darius raised an eyebrow at him as he skipped from the room, waving his shirt over his head, and then followed him, much more sedately.

After breakfast, during which Keiran's enthusiasm faded completely and was replaced by a stomach full of butterflies, which meant he couldn't eat for fear of squashing them, and through which nobody talked much, they all trekked up to their classroom where they were greeted at the door by a rather attractive female Paladin.

"All ready to go?" she asked, smiling kindly at their nervous faces, "You'll only need a pen or pencil, so could you please find one and leave your bags out here with me, and then you may go in. Good luck!"

They all filed in and took their seats, now all separated like they were during school tests, staring at the white piece of paper in front of them that was the back of the test.

"Please don't turn over the papers until I tell you," said an oldish man who was standing at the front of the room, and they all stared at him instead – he was wearing a _suit_. Crusaders do not wear suits. "You may _not_ leave when you have finished, and please remember that your melee exam will take place in the castle's courtyard at 3pm today." The strange man checked his watch. "You have 2 hours, no talking, you may begin."

The room was immediately filled with the sound of rustling paper as they all turned the tests over. Keiran turned his over more slowly, still trying to work out why there was some old dude supervising their exam, wrote his name on it and read the first question;

_1): Give a brief description of the skill Provoke, providing examples of three situations where it would prove useful._

Keiran gnawed on his pen for a moment, and then wrote an answer that was far more detailed than it needed to be and provided not three, but five separate situations. Hopefully they weren't taking marks off for being too smart...

_2): Explain why it is NOT essential for a Crusader to master two-handed swords._

Keiran could have snorted – that was only the easiest question ever. _Everyone _knew that Crusaders used shields and therefore _couldn't_ use two-handed weapons... He wrote a large paragraph on the subject, and then for the next question on the stun percentages of Fatal Blow. He turned the page.

_4): In the space provided, draw a complete Swordsman skill tree with labels, and on the following page give a brief description of each skill in ONE sentence._

_Aw poopy_. Keiran thought, _only one sentence..._ Lucky he'd been terrified of Breakthru's wrath and had memorised the skill trees so well that it was second nature to him now... He scribbled it down easily and checked the clock, an hour and a half to go – he'd have to pick up the pace a bit

An hour and a half into the exam, the supervisor began drifting around the room, calling the time every five minutes. Now he was hovering behind Keiran's shoulder and breathing so loudly it sounded like he was dying, Keiran was just about to ask him to hover elsewhere when he floated away to annoy Blank, whose lip twitched and Keiran could just about work out the swear words he was mouthing. He grinned, and the supervisor glared at him; he quickly turned back to the paper. He was on the second to last question, a particularly long and nasty one on how _all _of the swordsmen skills could be used in one of three set situations _by a Crusader_, and they were expected to include Crusader skills in their answer. Keiran had written a page and a half on mobbing in Glast Heim, and then the supervisor announced that there were only five minutes remaining.

He quickly rounded off his paragraph and flipped to the last page.

_16): Explain the two main problems with using the skill Endure._

Keiran was immensely grateful to Kuronosu – the first thing he had done when he had got in from practicing with Xin was look up as much information he could on the downsides of Endure. There were two main ones. One: When it wore off, if the user had taken too much damage while it was activated, the influx of so much pain at once could cause the user to pass out; and two: if used too much, the user would gradually lose their natural pain tolerance and if they were silenced during battle or had overused the skill, they wouldn't be able to take much damage before it became too much. Keiran wrote this down in more detail, and had just added the last full stop when the supervisor clapped his hands.

"Pens down! Your two hours are up."

With a sigh Keiran sat back, stretching his arms over his head; then looked around at everyone as the man collected the papers. Arthur was looking edgy, chewing the end of his pencil and trying to jot down a few last words before his paper was taken away. Darius looked his usual calm, collected self, but his slight frown may indicate that something hadn't gone quite right. Kiba and Blank both looked very smug, Match was itching his ear idly and yawning, Chris was scowling, and Shiz looked like he was about to have a panic attack. And the girls... Saphira was smiling in a confident way, which Keiran suspected meant she thought she had done alright, Yule was twisting a lock of her hair around a long finger, frowning at the roof, and Astarte was tapping her pen against her teeth and gazing thoughtfully at the back of Darius' head. In front of him Chaku was twisting her hands, Chakii had her arms folded and was scowling at the supervisor and Natalie was... actually very hard to read.

"Alright. You may leave." said the supervisor in his suit.

As one the Swordsmen got to their feet and filed out, collected their bags and headed down for lunch, discussing the test questions with each other loudly.

"How did you go, Keiran? You looked pretty confident at the end there." asked Kiba.

"What about you, huh?" Keiran retorted.

Kiba grinned. "I wrote more in that exam than I've done in any other test I've ever taken. Even if I don't do as well as I think I did I'll still be happy."

"Fair enough!"

"Don't avoid my question."

"Oh I thought it was easy." Keiran said.

"You fucking would." Blank snorted. "You may look thick, and half the fricking time what comes out of your mouth makes very little sense, but God damn are you smart with that sort of thing."

"Wow thanks, Blank-" Keiran started, touched.

"Careful, you'll inflate his head," warned Astarte. Keiran pulled a face at her.

"It was two insults and one compliment. They cancel out." Match observed.

"Ah, but he only hears the compliment." Darius contributed.

"You do present a valid point..." Match agreed, nodding and rubbing his chin.

"Meaning you _are_ inflating his already humungous head." Astarte said in a final sort of way.

Keiran pouted. "My head is not humungous."

"Now, now children, play nicely." Saphira said, tugging Keiran to the other side of her so she was between him and Astarte, she poked her tongue out at him and went to talk to Darius.

"How'd you do, Saph?" Keiran asked, catching her swinging hand and holding on.

"Oh not too bad." she said evasively.

"Ohhh?" He raised his eyebrows, and she giggled.

"Okay, I did better than I thought I would. At least I think I did."

"Bet you did _great._" Keiran said dutifully.

Saphira smiled. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

At a quarter to three they reluctantly left the cool of the castle and headed out into the sun where they were all spilt up and sent off in different directions to meet their melee partner for the exam.

"..." _You have got to be joking,_ Keiran thought, staring up at the man he was expected to duel in disbelief. He was _huge, _at least 6'4 and wide enough to block your average doorway, with an impressive collection of scars marking his rather handsome face despite not looking all that old...

"Good afternoon." he said, quite pleasantly.

"Good afternoon, Sir." Keiran replied, trying not to back off as the Paladin stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Sir Jeremiah Hodge. And you're Keiran le Lievre, correct?"

"Yes Sir."

Sir Jeremiah looked over Keiran's shoulder and nodded, and Keiran glanced behind him to see another Paladin of a similar age but of _great _beauty sitting in the shade with a clipboard on her knees, she grinned and wrote something down. "And this is my wife and partner, Summer."

Keiran bowed to her politely and she inclined her beautiful head, and then wrote something else.

"Shall I explain the rules?" Sir Jeremiah asked.

"If you would, Sir." Keiran said, as courteously as he could. He was starting to get the impression they were being marked on etiquette in this too... Lucky he had a healthy respect for his elders to start with.

"We shall have three rounds – best of three wins, as usual, with disarming your opponent being the main aim. Skills are forbidden – if you should use any you will lose your grade. I shall not attack you, only defend and disarm; however, you are expected to use your full offensive strength against me. Do you understand?"

Keiran bowed. "Yes Sir."

"Do not worry if you lose - you are not being solely marked on the result. Instead you are graded on several aspects, including: speed, accuracy, use of weapons, strength, style, and overall impact. Understand?"

"Yes Sir," Keiran repeated. _I'm not thick._

"Shall we begin, then?" Sir Jeremiah pulled a shield from his back that looked far too small on his arm, and drew a wooden training sword from his belt. He was left handed, Keiran noticed, that would be different...

Keiran bowed deeply and drew his own sword, bringing his shield around in front of him defensively, feeling rather glad that this tank of a man wasn't allowed to attack him.

"Whenever you're ready." Summer called. She had a cheerful voice that floated across and melted Keiran's heart. He quickly shoved all thoughts of her aside and focused on the task at hand.

Sir Jeremiah had adopted a sort of crouch with his shield held in front of his chest and protecting his jaw, meaning Keiran's favourite move wasn't going to work straight away... He would have to get him to lower it, but how? It was going to be a hard defence to break, Keiran thought, taking up his battle stance and began circling slowly, trying to find some weakness.

Then he spotted it- as the Paladin rotated with him, he would take his weight off his right leg a lot quicker than he would his left, and kept it further back, protected by his other. A bad leg? Why would they pit someone with an obvious weakness against him? Unless all of the examiners had some sort of weakness and part of the test was to see if you could spot it...? He was thinking much too hard about this, he knew, and shook himself. Now how to use that to his advantage..?

He suddenly leaped forward and to one side, meaning the Paladin had to place his weight on his bad leg in order to turn fast enough to block Keiran's sword as he swung it at his undefended shoulder. At the same time he slammed his shield into Sir Jeremiah's, sending the Paladin back a step as he tried to reposition his weight. Keiran charged into him again, the Paladin's sword catching Keiran's an inch from his face. However, Keiran had achieved his goal and had got inside his guard, but this meant he was in a very dangerous position – he had to act quickly or he would be crushed in a real fight, between the Paladin's chest plate and his shield. Keiran leaned towards the Paladin's sword side, and then slammed his shield, with all his weight behind it, into the crook of his arm. Sir Jeremiah's defence crumbled and Keiran took advantage of it, slamming into his chest with shield and parrying his disarming strikes with his sword as he tried to get his shield back between himself and Keiran. Keiran shoved, timing his strike just so that the Paladin had no choice but to brace himself with his weak leg, and therefore wasn't trying as hard to defend himself; Keiran drove his shield up into the Paladin's throat guard with the same resounding clang that it had made against Lord Ishikawa, and had the same effect - momentarily stunning Sir Jeremiah. Quickly Keiran rammed him again and before he could recover had hooked his sword under the Paladin's and had flicked it from his hand.

Sir Jeremiah stepped back and held up his hands in defeat. "Well done."

"Thank you very much Sir," Keiran managed, gasping as he bowed. Repeatedly ramming someone who obviously weighed a lot more than you did was not easy... He was going to hurt tonight, that was for sure.

Due to a sudden rush of fatigue and a very sore shoulder, Keiran lost the second round, but not before he had blocked some powerful disarming strikes and had shown off a few more of the shield techniques he had borrowed from Keegan Missano and adapted to suit his own style. As he held up his hands, Sir Jeremiah smiled and complimented him on the moves, correctly guessing their origins.

"Round three then," he said, and Keiran retrieved his sword.

He was tired, and now far too stiff for ramming metal giants, so he left his shield arm to defend the left side of his body and focused on his sword fighting – not his preferred way of doing things, but with his left arm feeling like it would break if he tried anything more with it, he didn't have much option. By some total fluke he managed to disarm Sir Jeremiah after a very long fencing match, and the Paladin conceded defeat.

"Very impressive." Sir Jeremiah said, tucking his sword into his belt again and returning his shield to his back. "May I offer you a suggestion?"

Keiran, now very out of breath, bowed and completely failed to get his sword under his belt. Hell, it was hard enough to remain standing.

"You may wish to consider using your shield on your right arm."

"Sir?"

"Your right is your dominant side, is it not?"

"It is, Sir." Keiran said.

"You use your shield and sword the opposite way to how they were designed, have you noticed?"

"... No Sir." _A little..._

"Yes, you attack with your shield and defend with your sword..." the Paladin looked down at him thoughtfully. "There is nothing wrong with this, of course. But if you were to continue in this vein, you may wish to have your shield on your dominant arm, to give it even more power."

Keiran gazed at him. He hadn't thought of that... "Thank you Sir."

"Just a thought. You don't have to."

"Jem, what are you doing?" Summer called, on her feet now and moving into the sun.

God she was beautiful... Keiran thought, staring. Just like some warrioress from one of Darius' books, with her flowing hair and sleek limbs and _oh my God I have to stop thinking like this._

Sir Jeremiah smiled at her, and held out his hand once more to Keiran, who took it, bowing his head.

"It has been a pleasure to spar with you, Keiran. I wish you all the best with the last part of your exam tomorrow."

"Thank you, Sir." Keiran said again. "It has been an honour to meet you."

He chuckled. "Hardly an honour. I'm no one important."

"Jeeeem~! Come help me with all this paperwork!" Summer whined, sounding so adorable that Keiran just _had_ to look at her once more.

"Women." Sir Jeremiah said with a sigh, and went to join her, raising a hand in farewell to Keiran, who bowed and excused himself, going in search of his own beautiful warrioress.

"She's still going." Astarte informed him as he slid onto the bench in the dining room beside her.

Keiran pouted. "I wanted a cuddle."

"I could give you one if you'd like," she said absently, stuffing half a bread roll into her mouth.

"... Nah, I'll just wait, thanks." Keiran said, yawning and rolling his by now very stiff shoulders. "Need a massage too..."

"Sorry, can't help you with that one."

"Wasn't asking you to."

"Serves you right really for having that strange fighting style."

"It's not strange. I've been told several times over the last few weeks that it's something I should be proud of." _Only not in those words... "_You're just jealous coz you're a woman and can't do it coz you don't weigh enough."

"Oh yeah? How much do you weigh then?" she asked, eyeing him up.

"86 kilos," he replied promptly.

"Take a guess at me."

"... But you'll get mad and say I'm calling you fat."

"I won't, I promise," Astarte said, looking most amused.

"60 kilos."

"WRONG."

"... 50?"

"Nope. I'm up at 71."

Keiran gaped. "_Never."_

She laughed. "I am."

"But you're like..." he made an hourglass shaped with his hands.

She looked pleased by this. "Maybe, but you forget that I'm also a swordswoman." pulling up her sleeve, she flexed her arm, revealing a sizable bicep.

"Wow." Keiran said, impressed, then ruined the moment by saying: "you'd better watch it though or you'll end up like those macho-women."

Astarte smacked him over the back of the head with her hand. "I will _not _end up like them. But speaking of which – it looked like Shiz got paired up with one during the exam."

"He did _what?" _Keiran snorted, imagining the rather small Shiz fighting a tank woman.

"I know right." Astarte grinned. "I got this absolutely gorgeous guy-"

"Hey, you're talking to a guy here; I don't care for the details."

"But you're bi, so you can appreciate what I'm saying, right?"

"I may be bi, but that doesn't mean I go around going, _oooh he's hot_, and _wow he has a nice arse."_ He said lightly, raising his eyebrows.

"... I'll take your word for it..." Astarte said, raising just one eyebrow. Keiran let one of his drop and she raised her other one, then lowered them both and lifted them again. Keiran copied her, and she snorted at him, turning away as she began to laugh.

Keiran chuckled along with her for a minute. "So how did you go with your _absolutely gorgeous_ Paladin?"

"Oh I don't know. He won two out of three, but looked pretty happy with me still. How about you?"

"Won two outta three and my guy seemed impressed too."

"Things are looking good for you then, huh?" she said, reaching for another bun and waving at Arthur who had just come into the hall.

"Dunno. It's tomorrow that's really gonna be hard for me I think."

"Naah, you'll be fine." Astarte patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Hey Arthur!"

"Hullo." he said, slipping onto the bench opposite and immediately letting his head drop onto his arms, looking completely drained. "How did you guys go?"

They told him and he smiled vaguely.

"How about you?" Keiran prompted.

"Lost two, and drew the other."

Keiran raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage that?"

"No idea." Arthur muttered, closing his eyes.

Keiran looked at Astarte for an explanation, but she only shrugged.

"SAPH!" he yelled suddenly, leaping to his feet as she came into sight.

She grinned and waved, quickening her pace as Keiran threatened to climb over the table to get to her.

"Hey sexy." she said, walking straight into his arms and cuddling up to him.

"Hey sexier." Keiran murmured into her hair.

"Could you two either sit down or get a room?" Astarte said, now drinking tomato soup like it was going out of fashion.

"Just for that-" Keiran said and kissed Saphira deeply.

"Disgusting." Astarte snorted, a smile playing around her lips.

Saphira giggled, blushing, and sat beside her, tugging Keiran down next to her, where he proceeded to try and continue the kiss which had been so _very_ good...

"No, I want to eat now." she scolded, placing a finger against his lips.

Keiran pouted and she smiled, kissing the end of his nose softly. "There'll be plenty of time for that after tomorrow. But now I need food so I don't pass out."

"Is that a promise?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course," Saphira said, "could you please pass the soup?"

Keiran obliged willingly, and after saying a quick prayer in thanks, helped himself to some food too, suddenly very hungry. "How did you go, Saph?"

"Three wins!" she said proudly.

"Well done!" Astarte exclaimed, patting her on the back.

She grinned widely. "The woman who duelled me was such a bitch though – I don't know what I did but she would not say a nice word to me- she wouldn't even bow!"

"Give me her name; I'll go teach her some manners." Keiran said, his eyes narrowed.

"No, it's alright, really. The guy with the clipboard was really nice and more than made up for her rudeness." She blushed.

"Give me his name; I'll go kill him." Keiran said.

Saphira laughed and stroked his cheek. "Now, Keiran, he wasn't to know I'm taken, it's not his fault."

"I know, I wasn't serious." He grinned.

"Ooh more people!" Astarte observed, and they were joined by Darius and Natalie, both of whom had won three out of three, and Shiz, who refused to tell them how he had done. Chris and Kiba followed soon after, both with two wins, then Chakii, who hadn't won any and was fuming and ranting about the guy she'd had to duel who had apparently tried to break her arm on numerous occasions. They all advised her to go talk to Kuronosu and demand a different opponent. After she had left, Chaku came in, smiling with two out of three wins. Match had only one win, and Blank had three, but had been told he lost points for beating his opponent around the head when he had commented sarcastically on how lovely his hair was and did he dye it? Yule didn't come in until much later, looking very, _very _pleased with herself with her cheeks glowing, and she announced she had won them all.

Astarte leaned over and said Yule's opponent had been even hotter than her one, and Keiran came to the conclusion she hadn't only won her duels... Hopefully Kiba wasn't paying attention.

Sometime later, Sir Kuronosu wandered over to see how they had gone, apologising that he couldn't come and watch.

"Now, tomorrow," he said. "You'll be heading out into the fields, but you'll be going by warp portal. You're to meet the priests in the courtyard at 9am. If you're late they'll leave without you, and there's no walking to where you're going."

"Where are we going?" Chakii asked, looking brighter since Kuronosu had told her she would be able to have a rematch.

"I can't tell you that, I'm afraid." He smiled kindly. "Please take along everything you usually take on fieldtrips, including steel swords – you'll need them. You're expected to use _everything _you have learnt up to date, so this includes potting and the like." He beamed around at them all. "Do me proud, won't you?"

The swordsmen all nodded loyally.

"Good luck, then, and I shall look forward to seeing you at dinner tomorrow."


	18. Part 18: More stress!

**Thank you very much for reading~! Love you guys :3 And extra loves for those of you who comment! Nothing better than turning on my computer to see comments waiting for me. *O***

**About the time thing... I think it only gets worse from here on out, so sorry about that DDD;**

**Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok (c) Gravity.**

**

* * *

**

Despite being totally exhausted, or maybe _because_ he was, Keiran didn't have the best night's sleep ever, and he spent a good portion of it staring at the roof, his mind totally blank. Occasionally a rustling of blankets from the other bed would betray that Darius was also awake and Keiran would look over to see that he too was gazing at the roof, the sliver of moonlight through the curtains reflecting in his open eyes.

Eventually though, Keiran somehow managed to get some sleep and he woke up the next morning feeling a little energized and a lot nervous. Darius too seemed to be feeling the pressure and said absolutely nothing through breakfast and all the way out to meet the priests at 9. Correction: _High _Priests. There were three of them, two males and a female, all looking most superior as priests occasionally did...

"Quickly, quickly," one of the males said, beckoning the swordies over. "Three groups please- okay, who has been warped before?"

Keiran put up his hand (his mother had often bought a warp to Rachel when she took Keiran to visit his grandparents), along with Darius and a few others.

"Okay you guys go through first." he checked his watch, nodded to the other two and together they cast the spell that summoned the warp portals, a blue gemstone in their hands. "Go go go."

Keiran didn't need telling twice and darted into the centre of the swirling blue circle first – sometimes if you were being warped in a large group you could get squashed if everyone all went at once. Not comfortable.

His stomach twisted, and untwisted and then he hit the ground; no longer on the hard cobblestones of the courtyard but in ankle deep grass. The air here was rather stuffy and humid despite it still being quite early in the day, and Keiran could feel himself breaking into a sweat already as he looked around. They (the others had appeared beside him, some staggering as they touched down) were standing in a field of sorts with clumps of trees here and there and a thick covering of green grass on the floor. The whole place seemed to be tinged green – even the air, and had a very... enclosed feel to it, as if they were in a canyon. Somewhere to his left Keiran swore he could hear a faint tinkling of bells. Or was it birdsong..?

"Welcome to Moscovia's Les Forest," said someone, and the swordsmen all turned around.

Standing in a crescent before them were a dozen or so people. But not just Paladins, although the group consisted mostly of them, but also two male High Priests, a Lord Knight and of all things, a Stalker – the advanced class version of a Rogue.

A male Paladin, having been the one to speak, was standing slightly in front of the others, wearing a most calming smile as he looked them over. "Here you will take the third and last part of your exam. You will, one at a time, be called forward to go with the examiners" he gestured at a group of rather serious looking Paladins "further into the field. There you will be given your task and you will have 30 minutes to complete it. Are there any questions?"

_I have plenty_. Keiran thought, but if the Paladin was allowed to answer such things as '_what is the task?_' he was sure he would have told them what it was in the first place.

"I have one." said Chris.

"Oh?"

"What are they for?" he pointed at the priests and stalker.

"For, er, emergencies."

"And him?" Chris jabbed his thumb at the Lord Knight, who raised his eyebrows and muttered something to the stalker, who laughed loudly. Chris flushed.

"He is also for emergencies." The Paladin said, apparently oblivious to Chris' lack of manners. "Anything else?"

No one had anything else to say, and the Paladin clapped his hands together. "Alright, anyone want to go first?"

Keiran bit his lip, swallowed his nerves and took half a step forward, thinking he'd much rather get it over and done with, but was shoved aside by someone else. He bristled, pumping himself up to yell at Chris, or Blank, and therefore was _very _surprised to see that it wasn't either of those two that had shoved him. No, it was Arthur, who marched up to the Paladin with his face set in stone. The swordsmen all gaped at him.

"I'll go first." he said.

The Paladin beamed. "Good man. If you'll just go with those gentlemen..."

Arthur trotted after the Paladins as they led the way around a patch of trees and out of sight, the priests, Lord Knight and Stalker close behind, leaving the swordsmen with a group of four Paladins, who immediately sat down.

"Make yourselves comfortable – we're going to be here a while." the original Paladin said. "Oh, and you can go next." He nodded at Keiran, who felt a new wave of nerves leap up inside him. He nodded and sat down heavily.

It was a very long half an hour – no one would talk, not even the Paladins, and every time someone tried to stand up to pace, or practice their sword drills to pass the time, a Paladin would tell them to sit again. Keiran resorted to copying Astarte and Saphira, who were making daisy chains to lie on Kiba's stomach as he snoozed in the rather damp grass. However his ones kept breaking and he gave up and just pulled all the petals off them instead, chewing his lip to shreds.

Suddenly a stalker popped into existence beside the smiling Paladin; he hardly flinched, but the swordsmen jumped a mile, so highly strung on nerves that they were. "Next."

The Paladin beckoned to Keiran and he got to his feet, barely able to think for anxiety, but for one question: _where is Arthur? _He barely heard his companions wishing him luck behind him.

Keiran fell into place beside the Stalker and he led him around the trees, grinning widely. It was very disconcerting being taken away from his friends by a grinning man whose job was to strip people of their armour and possessions before stabbing them...

"What's your name?" he asked eventually, after shooting Keiran a lot of sideways glances.

"Keiran," he replied thickly.

"I'm Pride."

"Hi."

Pride's grin widened. "You seem friendlier than that other guy."

"Arthur doesn't talk much."

"Yeah I picked that up. Must suck huh?"

"Oh, no, you get used to it."

"I was meaning this exam thing. We don't have to do anything like this at the Rogue's guild." He stretched his arms behind his head as he walked, revealing a set of rock solid abs beneath his fur-trimmed jacket.

"Ah," said Keiran, thankful for the distraction but not in any mood for chitchat, really. "What are you here for?"

Pride glanced around. "Not supposed to tell you before you know the task... But, I'm here for my detox."

"... right." Keiran said. Did they have some chance of being poisoned then?

"Shh, we're nearly there."

_It was you doing the talking..._

They rounded a corner to find the examiners milling around on the edge of a huge open plain crawling with... trees. Moving, walking trees with small yellow birds fluttering around them.

"Attention here, please." One of the more severe looking Paladins said, and Keiran turned his attention on him instead. "Your task is to bring us back as many eggs as you can - they are dropped by Wood Goblins." He pointed at the trees. "And a bundle of incense sticks," Keiran stared at him, "which are dropped by _those_ monsters - Les." The Paladin pointed to a green, leafy human-looking monster that was fluttering across the grass. "You may use whatever tools, items or skills you have at your disposal. You have 30 minutes, starting now."

_WHAT?_ Keiran thought in disbelief, half an hour for that? And these were unknown monsters! What if they were really powerful and killed him? Did they mob? What were the drop rates on the items? He practically ran into the field, his bag bouncing on his back, and then hit the brakes a few metres from one of the moving trees, which now he was closer he could see had a face just below their top most branches, like an old man's with mossy green hair and a moustache.

He drew his sword and brought his shield around, eyeing the monster up, it was only a little taller than him. It ignored him and continued on past, the little birds chirping happily. It was a plant type, just by looking at it... which meant fire would be most effective, element-wise... Which meant- Magnum Break. Fuck.

Steeling himself, he leapt forwards, aiming to cut off one of the lower branches that looked oddly like an arm. His sword got half way through the wood and stuck and the tree growled, swinging around to swipe at him with its other 'arm'. Keiran blocked the blow with his shield and wrenched his sword out, trying to back up far enough to get the power required to cut it all the way off with his next strike, but the tree followed him, flailing its limbs. One whip-like finger caught him across the face and he gasped, feeling a trickle of blood run down his cheek. He leapt back a few more paces and the monster ambled after him, rather slowly, _ah, so they can't move quickly... _He could use that.

He darted to around behind the monster and it stopped, turning this way and that trying to find him, the birds in its branches now twittering in agitation as their nests were shaken. Keiran struck, removing the arm completely and causing the monster to growl in its hollow voice, spinning around and just missing knocking Keiran flying with a low bough. Keiran ran behind it again and began hacking at the other arm. It broke off with a crack and the tree roared; Keiran stabbed it in the face and it stopped moving. He tugged his sword out, and the tree toppled forwards, the nests in its branches spilling out onto the grass and their eggs smashing; the birds flew away, screaming. Keiran poked around at the remains after it disappeared – there was no egg.

Disappointed, and more than a little panicked he looked around for another, which he killed with just as little drama. This one gave him a fist-sized egg and feeling cheered he tucked it safely into his pack before setting upon yet another tree, giving his magnum break a go. His skill failed miserably, but after the monster had stood on his foot and he'd killed it, he once again he got an egg.

A jingling noise made him pause as he stalked his next tree - one of the leafy women monsters was floating nearby. Keiran moved closer; she looked at him briefly and floated on by.

"Provoke" he said, pointing at her.

She spun around in midair and headed straight for him. He hurriedly raised his shield and caught her blow on it, slicing at her midriff with his sword. She screamed, leaking green juice; and Keiran was suddenly hit from behind, and he swivelled to find another of the women glaring at him, and another behind her looking curious. _Oh shit..._

As fast as he could he darted between them, and they bumped into each other in their haste to chase him. While they hissed at each other, Keiran quickly gutted the one he had started with, and she withered up, screaming. However this caught the attention of the third monster and she floated forwards to join in. He darted aside to avoid a spurt of purple smoke she had just belched in his direction and stood on something, which cracked.

He spared it a glance – it was a pack of green incense sticks. Stooping to pick it up he rolled between the monsters and scrambled back to his feet, only to find yet another of the things had joined in. He Bashed it over the head and turned to the others. Now there were five.

Panicking, Keiran tried his Magnum Break again. He managed to light one of the monsters on fire, but missed the others completely and he fell back, no longer attacking but using all his strength to keep his shield raised to protect his head as they rained blow after blow down on him. When a cloud of the poisonous purple smoke surrounded him, he had no choice but to breathe it in, every blow to his shield causing him to gasp in pain at the jarring in his arm.

He felt the effects of the poison immediately – his lungs burned and his vision began to cloud; he weakened, lowering his shield as he was unable to hold its weight any longer. His stomach wrenched and his gagged, only just managing to parry one of the plant's strikes, but he staggered, retching, and was hit squarely on the top of his head with enough force to drop a small elephant. Keiran's knees buckled and he collapsed into the grass, the purple haze in front of his eyes replaced by one of red. He couldn't think, he couldn't see, but just gazed blankly at the grass in front of him, not feeling the monster's blows. He was bleeding, not just from cuts, but from his nose, mouth and ears. And still he couldn't move, not even to fall over; he remained on his knees, his limited vision clouding even more. And then... he passed out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

He woke up next to find himself lying on his back on a blanket, with another over his body and a warm hand against his forehead. Most surprisingly, he didn't hurt at all. Even the residual pains from yesterday's duel were gone.

"How are you feeling?" the owner of the hand asked, taking it away.

Keiran squinted up at her; it was a High Priestess, one of the ones that had warped them. "Okay?"

"Try sitting up. Very slowly," she said softly, and she helped him as he did so. "Now?"

"A little faint." he murmured, putting a hand to his forehead.

She nodded. "Just lie back down and take it easy – internal bleeding isn't the easiest thing to recover from..."

"Internal-?" He was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness and he swayed; the priestess caught him and gently laid him back on the blanket.

"Just rest. You were hit by one of the Les' skills, which is also a Lord Knight skill known as Head Crush. It causes internal bleeding, and what with being poisoned..." she tutted disapprovingly. "I don't know why they allow you to fight these monsters when you're obviously not strong enough yet..."

Keiran said nothing, and she went on.

"Especially without telling you what you're facing until you actually have to fight it. If you _knew_, then you could at least bring some green potions, though admittedly the head crush is a little hard to prevent..." She paused, looking down at Keiran, and then smiled sadly. "You were just unlucky. There were rather too many Les there to get away without some serious injury..."

"I failed, didn't I?" Keiran said thickly.

She smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question – I don't know how they judge you." Then she stood up and clapped her hands. "Sanctuary!"

The faint green light Keiran had thought he had been imagining around him strengthened until it was almost blinding. "What's that?" he asked.

"Sanctuary. It's a priest skill that creates a safe area which heals anyone who walks into it."

"Oh." Keiran stared up at the green tinged sky. "How long was I...?"

"Out?" she finished; Keiran nodded. "About 4 minutes."

"Oh," he repeated, closing his eyes, it had seemed much longer. "Can I go home?"

"I'm afraid not. It's not safe to warp you until you can at least stand."

"... How long will that take?" He wanted to go home so badly, to sleep in his warm bed in the comfort of the familiar stone walls...

"That depends on if you have a concussion or not, and I really can't tell if you do. You seem pretty with it, but the dizziness isn't good..."

"It may just be blood loss," a deep male's voice said.

Keiran tried to find him, but the light from the sanctuary was much too bright.

"Well yes," the High Priestess said, looking over her shoulder. "But it's better safe than sorry." She began fussing around Keiran's face, checking his temperature with the back of her hand and testing his pulse.

"Just let him sleep," the male said. Keiran felt strangely grateful to him.

"But if he's got a concussion-"

"It won't make any difference. The whole 'don't let a person with concussion go to sleep' thing is a load of rubbish."

The priestess pulled a face, but moved away from Keiran after making sure he was tucked in properly.

Keiran muttered a thank you, and then he was asleep.

"KEIRAN!" yelled someone, jerking him awake again – her voice was panicked.

"Shh!"

Keiran stared around himself wildly, he was still in that God forsaken field, but he didn't care- that voice... "Saph..?"

"Shhhh!" the priestess said, pushing him back down.

He struggled. "Saph!"

"It's okay, just settle down" said the male, suddenly crouched beside him, laying a hand on his chest. "She's alright – she just panicked when she saw you."

Keiran stared up at him, his chest heaving. "I'm alright- tell her, please- I don't want her to worry-"

"Settle..." he murmured. His voice was oddly soothing, and Keiran slowly relaxed; the High Priest looked away from him. "Kai, can you please go and talk to her?"

There was a rustling of grass and the man looked back at Keiran, his expression calm with a little bit of concern. Despite what he had told Astarte, Keiran's first thought about him was 'oh my God, he is hot' - he had pale flawless skin, golden eyes framed by wonderfully long lashes, and deep crimson hair that was cut roughly at chin length; his robes were red and gold to match.

"What's your name?" the priest asked, removing his hand now that Keiran had calmed down.

"Keiran."

"Well, Keiran, I can fairly confidently say you do_ not_ have concussion."

"... oh goody."

He smiled.

"Why was Saph here? How long did I sleep?" Keiran asked in a rush, trying to sit up again. The priest had his hand back on his chest so fast - Keiran didn't see him move.

"Settle..." he said, in the same tone; Keiran once again sagged onto the ground. "You were asleep for around two hours."

"Two..." Keiran repeated dazedly.

"Yes, and I would be willing to bet, if it weren't against my nature, that you would have gone on sleeping if your companion hadn't woken you."

"Where is she?"

The High Priest gazed off over Keiran's head for a moment. "I think... yes, she's coming this way- No, stay down," he commanded as Keiran tried to get up.

Keiran reluctantly obeyed, watching his face for an indication that Saphira might have come within speaking range. After what seemed like an age, he smiled softly and moved aside, and then there was Saphira.

"Heeey." Keiran said, smiling for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Oh Keiran..." she whispered, stroking his face.

"Hey, hey, I'm okay. I'm not dying or anything." He caught her hand gently in his as she bit her lip and blinked furiously. "Please don't cry..." he pleaded quietly.

"I'm sorry, I just thought- when I saw you lying there like that-" she choked.

"I don't die that easy, everyone knows that." Keiran said soothingly, blinking thickly as his eyelids began to droop again.

She made strange noise that might have been an attempt at a laugh and Keiran smiled up at her as a few stray tears trickled down her cheeks, brushing them away.

"Forgive me, lady, but he needs rest," the male High Priest said politely to Saphira. "Of course, you're more than welcome to stay with him until he has recovered enough to warp..."

Saphira nodded, and Keiran let his eyes close. "Is it alright if I..." she trailed off.

She must have gestured or something to finish her sentence because the male's voice said: "By all means."

There was a shuffling noise beside him and then something warm against his side. Curiously he prised one eye open – Saphira was lying beside him, her expression tender as she gazed at his face, one hand resting lightly on his arm.

_In a sense I'm sleeping with her... _Keiran smiled. "I love you..." he murmured, sleepily stroking back her hair_; _his eyes drooping closed once more.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Is that guy _still _out? Faaaar out."

"Be quiet. If you were his level and got beaten over the head you'd be out cold for four hours too. Actually you'd probably be out longer – thieves have shit recovery."

"We do not!"

"Yeah you do."

"... What's wrong with the girl?"

"Nothing. Girlfriend, apparently. Refused to be warped without him."

"Aw how _sweet..._"

"I thought so. Shouldn't you be watching the others?"

"Nope, they've finished."

"Oh really? Why can I hear screaming then?"

Keiran frowned; these voices were interfering with his dream... As was that yelling.

"Oh that's just the last guy – broke his arm."

_Broke his arm_? _Who broke his arm?_ The yelling was getting closer, and Keiran shifted slightly.

"... They're bringing him over here."

"Why, can't they just fix him over there?"

Keiran opened his eyes – the shouting was making him edgy. He was laying on the blanket still, Saphira beside him sleeping. Temporarily he forgot the noise and smiled, stroking her cheek and watching her sleep, and then he suddenly sat up and looked around; amazingly, his head didn't object.

"Oh now look, he's woken that guy up..." said one of the voices that had been talking earlier, the one that had been dissing thieves. Keiran looked at him - it was the Lord Knight; he was sitting on a tree stump, smoking, his silver hair plastered flat with sweat.

The Stalker, Pride, appeared magically at his side, brushing a little dust off his jacket. "'Bout time really. How you feeling?"

"Who's yelling?" Keiran asked thickly, disregarding the question.

"One o' ya mates."

"Who?"

"I dunno, do I? Blonde guy. Awful mouth on him."

"Blank?"

"What?" Pride frowned.

Keiran's question however was answered as Blank marched into the area, cradling his right arm and followed closely by two stressed looking High Priestesses, and further back, a male High Priest.

"FUCKIN' stop it! I fuckin' don't want your fuckin' help!" Blank yelled over his shoulder, obviously too stressed to think of more original curses.

"I would appreciate it if you would stop swearing at my charges" said the red haired male High Priest that had been tending to Keiran earlier.

Blank pulled up short, his mouth opening and closing as he took in everything about the priest; Keiran could see his mind working, forming the same conclusion Keiran had come to – this guy was _hot_. Only since it was Blank, he was more likely to think this guy was _fucking_ hot.

"Come here" the priest said kindly, and Blank obeyed without question, sitting down on the grass the priest was pointing to. "What's your name?"

"Blank."

"Okay Blank..." he squatted down at Blank's right side. "Can I have a look at your arm?"

Blank nodded meekly and the priest gently took his arm, examining it. He poked and prodded a bit, but Blank did no more than grimace, his eyes fixed on the man's face. Keiran was sure a less attractive person would have had their lights punched out several times over by now.

"... Hm," the High Priest said at last, sitting back.

"What is it, Lance?" one of the priestesses asked. Blank glared at her.

"I can't simply heal it – the bones are out of alignment..." he nodded to himself. "We'll have to straighten them first."

"... straighten...?" Blank said, his face pale.

"Yes. I'm afraid it is going to be painful, but I'll be as quick as I can..." Lance shot Blank a smile, then called over his shoulder, "Pride, Felix, if you would come over here, please."

The Lord Knight and the Stalker moved forward, looking confused, and Lance stood up to say something to them both so quietly Keiran couldn't hear the words. As the priest talked, Felix, the Lord Knight, looked doubtfully at Blank, and Pride scowled, but they nodded. Then Lance turned back to Blank.

"Okay Blank, just bear with us for a minute or two. Felix and Pride here are going to hold you down- I'm sorry, but it's necessary." Lance said kindly; Blank was already shaking his head. "And I'm going to fix your arm."

"No," said Blank. "No fucking way."

"Of course, we could always just leave it as is." Pride said, a sly grin on his face as he squatted down beside Blank, one long finger hovering just above the large angry lump in the swordsman's arm. "I'm sure it doesn't hurt that much..." The finger brushed Blank's skin; Blank hissed-

"Pride, stop that." Lance sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Pride pulled a face but removed his hand, much to Blank's relief – his face had lost even more colour and he now resembled a ghost.

"Alright, just fix it already," he muttered. "Please..."

_Poor Blank..._ Keiran thought, shifting positions a little so he could see better. Beside him Saphira was still sleeping, though for how much longer Keiran didn't know...

He looked at Blank, who had his teeth gritted as the Lord Knight and Stalker restrained him, watching the High Priest running his hands down the broken arm. Lance paused, and then-

"NyaarraARGH FUCKING-!"

"Lex Divina!" a female priest shouted hastily, clapping her hands together.

Blank's mouth continued to move furiously, but no words came out, which seemed to piss him off even more and he raged and struggled – Pride and Felix hanging on, just. Lance, his forehead creased in concentration, quickly gave Blank's arm one last tug, and healed it in place.

With a quick nod, the priest darted out of the way with remarkable speed, leaving Pride and Felix with a livid, silenced swordsman, now with two perfectly functional arms, one of which wasn't being held onto. Pride shrugged at the Lord Knight and disappeared, just as Blank swung a fist that would have collided with Pride's nose had he not moved.

"Fuck you, Pride." Felix growled through gritted teeth, seizing Blank's newly healed arm and twisting it behind his back with apparent ease. "Do you want me to break it again? Waste all Lance's hard work?"

Grimacing, Blank tried to say something, paused for a moment, then closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I didn't think so."

Very slowly, the Lord Knight let him have his arm back, keeping a careful eye on the swordsman in case he tried to attack anyone. Blank however, stayed exactly where he was, glaring at the grass in front of him and massaging his arm.

"Lex Divina." Lance said, waving his arm in Blank's direction.

"... thanks." Blank muttered.

"Not a problem." Lance shrugged and look around at Keiran, who realised he was staring. "And how are you feeling?"

Blank possibly hadn't even noticed Keiran's presence until then and scowled at him, dragging himself to his feet.

"Um... better, thank you." Keiran said.

"Is the dizziness gone?"

"Yes sir, I think so."

"That's great news. We'll be able to warp you all back as soon as your lady wakes up." Lance nodded to Saphira, who somehow was still sleeping.

_Must be a heavy sleeper..._ Keiran peered down at her fondly.

"Naww... Isn't she a cutie?" Pride droned, popping into existence directly opposite Keiran, also gazing at the sleeping girl. Keiran glared at him.

"_Pride."_ Lance said, and the Stalker gave an almighty sigh and stood up, dusting off his jeans.

"Can I go home now?" he asked.

"Yes, I think we're done here... Where did the examiners go?" The High Priest gazed off into the distance, but there was no one to be seen.

"Collaborating results or something, I guess," the other male High Priest said boredly.

Lance rubbed his chin. "Hm."

"Home?" Pride repeated hopefully.

"One warp to Morroc, coming right up," _another_ priest said, fishing a blue gem out of her robe.

"Buying- warp to Izlude, 0 zeny," Felix winked at the High Priestess named Kai.

She blushed and also produced a blue rock from somewhere, saying in a quiet voice, "I just happen to be going that way myself, so I _suppose_..."

Two minutes later, there was only Keiran, Blank, the still sleeping Saphira, Lance and one other High Priestess left. The two priests were sitting a little way off, chatting about something or another.

Blank was sitting beside Keiran now, his eyes half-closed.

"Tired?" Keiran asked quietly, watching him sway with every breath.

"Shut up..." he murmured.

"I thought you'd be, you know, memorising that guy's face or something."

"Shut up..." Blank said, straightening up a bit with a sigh. "It's not like I'm frickin', interested in him. I have Match, and anyway, _he's_ taken." He jerked his head in the priest's direction.

"He is?" Keiran stared at Lance. "Oh, so he is." The High Priest was now holding hands with the Priestess and they had their heads rather close together.

Saphira stirred, drawing Keiran's attention back to her.

"Good morning." Keiran said gently as her eyelids fluttered open to look at him.

"Morning..." she murmured, stretching. "Are you feeling better now?"

He smiled. "Just fine."

"Sorry to rush you, but I wanna go home." Blank said, and he did look a little sorry, but more so he looked homesick. Keiran guessed that having to watch him and Saphira while Match was absent was getting him down.

"Blank broke his arm." Keiran informed Saphira, answering her unspoken question.

"Ohh..."

"Ah, she's awake." Lance's girlfriend, or whatever she was said, and Lance got to his feet.

"Ready to go home?" he asked, looking mostly at Keiran.

"I think so," he nodded, and beside him Saphira and Blank nodded too.

"Alright then. If you'll just stand over here..."

And then they were back in the Crusader's Guild's courtyard.

Keiran staggered as he touched down, hit by a sudden wave of faintness, and clutched at Blank for support. Surprisingly, Blank didn't move a muscle, and allowed Keiran to cling to him.

"Okay... so maybe I'm not perfectly fine..." Keiran admitted, watching the world spin. Somewhere in the swirling mass of grey he could make out people... Kuronosu? And maybe Match?

"I think I should sit down..." Slowly he slipped to the ground. The world stopped spinning quite so fast and there was Saphira beside him again, an arm around his shoulders.

"Sir-" That was Blank, but he was cut off.

"It's alright, one of the priests told me what happened." Kuronosu's calm voice said, rather close by. "Keiran?"

Keiran opened his eyes; his vision was still spinning, but instead of seeing the greys of the courtyard he saw Kuronosu's face swimming before him. He closed them again. "Urgh."

"He shouldn't have been warped so soon..." Kuronosu said. "Someone get on his other side."

Keiran felt arms around him, tugging him to his feet again. "What's the time?" he asked stupidly.

"About half past 2," the person on his left said.

"Darius?"

"That's me."

"Step up," said Kuronosu, from his right. "And again."

It was a very long time, and a lot of steps later before Kuronosu and Darius finally let go of him, and only then did he risk opening his eyes.

"Oh good, there's only one of you now..." Keiran muttered, collapsing thankfully onto his own bed.

"All the bad shit seems to happen to you." Blank said from behind Darius somewhere. "Excuse my language, Sir."

Kuronosu only smiled, and left the room.

There was a weight on the other side of the bed, and Keiran looked over to see Saphira perched there, looking concerned but thankfully not like she was about to cry.

"Right, I want the lot of you out of here. He needs sleep." Kuronosu said, coming back to Keiran's bedside. "Darius, of course, can stay."

There was a lot of grumbling, but slowly everyone left, and when they had, Kuronosu turned to Keiran, "you'll be pleased to know you have three days off to recover. _All_ of you do. Make the most of it."

He left, and Keiran sighed, staring at the roof, which threatened to run away. "How did you go?"

Darius paused in the act of pouring a glass of water. "I don't know."

"No injuries though?"

"No..." Darius finished filling the glass and brought it over to Keiran's bedside table.

"Then you did better than me."

Darius said nothing.

Keiran watched him as he went to get himself a glass. "You look exhausted."

"Mm." Darius said.

"And sound it too."

Darius gave a flash of a smile and sat down heavily on his bed.

Keiran returned his gaze to the roof. "I don't think I passed..."

"There's always next time..."

"Next time... Yeah..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After another four hour nap, Keiran extracted himself from bed to go in search of dinner. Darius' bed was empty, but the sheets were pushed back as if they had been slept in recently. Darius himself was absent.

His head, it seemed, had finally decided to cooperate, and although he was still rather tired, he was now tired in a super energised, I couldn't sleep anymore if I tried, sort of way - he could go out to town tomorrow _all day _and not have to worry about studying or having to muck out stables or _anything._

It would be great.

He grinned to himself as he entered the dining hall. It was still a little early for dinner, but he certainly wasn't the only one who was hungry, it seemed.

In the very middle of one table a rather large group of Crusaders was singing loudly and unsteadily, arm in arm with each other. On the table in front of them was a large pile of presumably empty alcohol bottles. Keiran suspected this meant the Crusaders too had finished their exams.

Further down the same table the Swordsmen sat, laughing or talking or eating, or drinking.

"Keiran!" several people called at once, and he grinned wider than ever, sliding into place between Darius and Saphira, who immediately asked how he was feeling.

"Fine, never better," he replied easily, accepting a glass of something than smelled rather like paint stripper from Blank, poured half of it out into an empty cup and topped it up with lemonade.

"What a fucking waste..." Blank muttered, but there was a smile playing around his lips.

"Sorry, but I don't want to get drunk tonight. I've had quite enough of the world spinning for one day."

"Fair enough." He smirked and took Keiran's other cup for himself.

"So, how did everyone go then?" Keiran asked the table at large, tugging Saphira closer. "Anyone think they passed?" _What did we have to get to pass anyway? I got some incense, and... two eggs? Or was it three? _He didn't remember. He had checked his bag when he had woken up, but the eggs and box of incense sticks were gone...

It turned out that no one had done that much better than Keiran. A lot had got around half a dozen eggs but hadn't found any incense, others had got incense but only one or two eggs, similar to Keiran, and Yule had had extremely bad luck and hadn't found anything at all. Natalie and Arthur had done the best, both getting incense sticks and nearly a dozen eggs. _Arthur never ceases to surprise me... _Keiran thought, watching the boy over the edge of his glass. He was looking a little flustered at the attention he was receiving, but quite proud at the same time. _Oh well, he deserves it..._

"Darius, you have mail!" a mostly drunk Crusader yelled, throwing a letter in their direction. He might as well have not bothered – Darius still had to get up to collect it from where it fell on the floor behind the person who threw it.

Darius had already opened it by the time he got back to his seat, and was smiling and turning the letter over to check the back.

"Who's it from?" Keiran inquired curiously; Darius handed it to him.

In a familiar messy handwriting was written;

_Dear Darius and friends,_

_ WRITE BACK ALREADY!_

_Sincerely, Alexander._

And that was it.

Keiran snorted. "You didn't write back to him?"

"No, I've been too busy." Darius admitted, looking a little guilty.

"Well there's no time like the present!" Keiran straightened up, checking his pockets for a pen.

"What's happening?" Match asked, trying to remove a bottle of vodka from between Blank's fingers.

Keiran gave up on the pen search. "We're writing a letter."

"Who to?"

"You remember the blonde knight swordie at the DB event, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Him."

"Say hey to him for me," said Kiba, who was sitting beside Yule, rather closely.

"Yeah yeah..." Keiran said, scanning the table for a pen now. "Anyone got some paper and a pen?"

"I do!" Chaku exclaimed, pulling her backpack onto the table and extracting a notebook of pale pink paper and an equally pink pen. "It's pink, I hope you don't mind."

"... Nah, I'm sure Alex loves pink." Keiran said, sniggering internally as he took them and handed them to Darius. "Don't make it too formal."

"Yes sir." Darius sighed and wrote _'Dear Alex, I'm sorry we have taken so long to get back to you.' _Then, with his pen poised over the next line, looked at Keiran for inspiration.

"I think he wanted to know our birthdays?" Keiran suggested helpfully.

"That's right..." Darius wrote something else and looked back at Keiran.

"Mine's 26th November," he said. "You should know that."

"Yeah, I do, sorry... I'm just tired."

"Aren't we all?" Keiran said breezily. "Okay guys, when's your birthdays? Blank yours is in... April?"

Blank nodded, kidnapping Match's glass. "16th."

"Match? Sorry, I forgot it."

"21st January." Match replied promptly. "Why does he want to know our birthdays? I think we only talked to him once while we were there."

Keiran shrugged. "'Cause he's a rich bitch and has nothing better to spend his money on than birthday presents for complete strangers?"

"Aah, it all becomes clear..." Blank said in a philosophical sort of tone, nodding wisely, then snorted.

Keiran ignored him. "Kiiiibaaa?"

"Er... January 3rd."

"Arthur- ... Someone poke Arthur, please."

Kiba did the honours, and Arthur lifted his head off the table to blink sleepily at him.

"Keiran wants to know when your birthday is." Kiba said.

Arthur grunted and looked over at Keiran, who grinned stupidly. "2nd of May."

"Aww, another birthday I missed. You shouldn't be so secretive about it!" Keiran wailed.

"You never asked." Arthur muttered vaguely and let his head drop back onto the table. Within seconds he was asleep again.

"I don't know if I'll ever understand that guy..." Keiran said mostly to himself.

"I don't think there's actually much to understand." said Kiba, tugging lightly at a strand of Arthur's rather curly hair. Arthur didn't so much as twitch.

"Oh I dunno..."

"Birthdays?" Darius prompted impatiently.

"Oh right. Saph?" Keiran looked down at the top of her head. She seemed content to just cling to him this evening without speaking. Keiran didn't mind either way.

"I haven't even met him though." Saphira said.

"I'm sure you'll meet him sometime-"

"I can't believe you don't know your girlfriend's birthday." Astarte scowled at him. "And you've been together ages too."

"I do know it." Keiran replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Then why do you have to ask her?"

"I was giving her a chance to say it for herself."

"Sure you were."

"I was."

"When is it then?" Astarte insisted.

"The 19th of February."

Astarte narrowed her eyes and sat back.

"Told you I knew it." Keiran said, poking his tongue out at her.

She harrumphed and turned away.

"Astarte's is the 22nd of December." Saphira told Darius, who was tapping the pen against his glass. Astarte pulled a face at her. "Nat's is the 4th of March, Yule's is the 17th of September, Chaku is the 9th of October, and Chakii is on the 28th of April?"

"29th." Chakii corrected.

Saphira smiled apologetically at her, then seemed to realise their end of the table had gone very quiet and looked around; the male population had stopped doing whatever they were doing to stare at her in wonder, even Darius was gaping.

"What?" she asked amusedly.

"How... How the _fuck_ do you remember all those birthdays?" Blank managed, backed up by several nods.

"Oh." Saphira said, grinning, "I don't know?"

"Wow." Kiba contributed.

Darius cleared his throat. "Could you repeat those again please, Saphira, I only got Natalie's written down."

"Sure thing." Saphira said, then repeated the list.

"Just Chris and Shiz left." Darius announced after he'd written everyone else down.

Keiran looked around. The pair weren't there. "Where are they?"

"Urm. Chris said something about doing stables, so I guess Shiz went with him." Kiba said.

_Haha shame._ Keiran thought evilly. "Oh well, Alex doesn't need to know about their existence anyway."

Darius scowled at him, but shrugged and started writing again. Keiran had a feeling he was writing a load of formal crap, but as Darius had tilted the page; it was hard to read it over his shoulder. That didn't matter too much because it was nearly dinner time and people were starting to trickle into the hall, which meant Keiran had something to do – watch them, and try to guess where they were going to sit. Not the most entertaining game ever, but as Saphira seemed to have fallen asleep leaning against him and everyone else was... busy, what other option did he have?

By the time dinner arrived, half an hour later, Keiran was bored out of his mind and had been seriously considering asking Blank to pass the alcohol, just to give him something to do. But then Darius sighed, folded his two page long essay/letter carefully, and tucked it into his pocket, and handed the pen back to Chaku with a thank you and a smile, just as Kuronosu stood up and clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.

Of course, with a good portion of the diners being drunk already, the level of noise didn't drop quite as much as it usually would have, but Kuronosu started speaking over them, regardless;

"Good evening, everyone! And to those of you who had them, congratulations for making it through your exams!" The drunken Crusaders cheered loudly. "As you know, we have a guild-wide three day holiday now, which means no classes, _however,_ I would like to stress that your curfews are still in place, and I still expect you to be in Church on Sunday. Classes will continue as normal from Monday, unless of course, you've been promoted. You will get your results at Sunday dinner. I'll be giving the formal speech, and we'll have some special guests, and all that jazz, so I'd like everyone in tidy uniform and on your best behaviour, please and thank you. Now let's say grace."

Dinner was exceptionally good today, for whatever reason. Or maybe it was just because Keiran hadn't eaten anything since his pathetic breakfast. Either way, dinner was exceptionally good, and full and content, Keiran made his way upstairs with an arm around Saphira's shoulders. She was still clinging to his waist. It was going to be very difficult to get ready for bed...

Suddenly he had an idea. It probably wasn't a good idea, but it was an idea, and maybe, just _maybe..._

He glanced over his shoulder, there was no one there. Good.

"Hey Saph..?" he said hesitantly, nerves and excitement fighting for poll position.

"Mm?"

"Do you want to...? Um, would you like to... sleep with me?" he asked, and then realised his mistake, adding hastily; "I mean, sleep in the same bed, with pj's on." He could feel himself blushing, and swore internally.

Saphira giggled, and after a minute of thinking about it looked up at him and said, "I would love to."

Keiran's stomach did a triple back flip, and he just barely resisted the urge to jump up and down cheering.

"Won't Darius mind?" she asked curiously, watching Keiran's face twitch with various emotions.

"Oh we don't have to worry about him." Keiran said, finally deciding on a rather giddy grin.

"Oh?"

"Nope, some of the spare rooms on our floor are unlocked."

"Oooh." Saphira said, then broke into a giggling fit.

_Oh my God she's drunk_, Keiran realised suddenly. That explains the clinging. _Maybe this really is a bad idea... "_How much did you drink..?"

"Um. I don't know." she replied, grinning.

Not good. Maybe... maybe she'll just go straight to sleep... _Hopefully._

Keiran pulled her to a stop outside one of the spare rooms on the boy's side and peered inside. "Okay we'll borrow this room. Meet you back here in 5?"

Saphira giggled and nodded, skipping unsteadily down the corridor towards her own room.

Watching her, Keiran ran a hand through his hair anxiously. _Okay, we can do this; it's just one night..._

Alone, with your drunk girlfriend...The other voice reminded him.

_I'm tired; I'll just be able to go straight to sleep._

Not tired enough, I'm afraid.

_I am tired._

After sleeping with her you would be. It sniggered. 7 months is a long time, after all.

_Shut up, shut up!_

Keiran shook himself and half ran to his room, slamming the door with such force that Darius, sitting in bed, fumbled his book.

"Help..." Keiran said, leaning against the door as if the other voice might possibly be behind it trying to get through.

Darius immediately scrambled from bed to come to his aid, "what's happened?"

"Nothing, yet."

Darius blinked.

"I don't think I can do it..."

"Do what?" he sounded vaguely alarmed.

"I invited Saphira to share a bed with me, with nothing sexual intended... But she's drunk, and I'm..." Keiran groaned. "I can't do it."

Darius said nothing for a while, staring at him. "... You want to sleep with her?"

He nodded. "But I don't think she wants to sleep with me, and ... I just don't know what to do."

"... Well, I must say I'm impressed you're taking her wishes into consideration-"

"Darius, I _love_ her, how can I not!"

"Okay, okay..." Darius said, turning the other way politely as Keiran struggled out of his uniform and into his pyjamas. "Have you tried talking to her about it?"

"And say what? 'I'd _really _like to have sex with you but at the same time it feels like a really bad idea'?"

"... I see your point. I was going to say that you could hint, _subtly_, that you'd like to take your relationship to the next level."

"_How? _I'm not good at subtle!_" _Keiran half-wailed, then caught a glimpse of the clock, "Oh shit I said I'd meet her in 5... I have to go. See you in the morning if I haven't suicided."

Darius sighed. "Good night, and good luck."

_Why ask him anyway? _Keiran thought as he charged back down the corridor. _It's not like he knows._ _Ok, that was mean, leave the poor guy alone. _He paused outside the door and took a few deep breaths, then let himself in.

Saphira was perched on the edge on one of the beds wearing (Keiran was pleased to see, as his mind had cooked up a whole magazine's worth of less than appropriate nightwear) a sleeveless nightie and ¾ pj bottoms.

She grinned as he wandered over to her. "Nice pjs."

Keiran glanced down. He was wearing yet another of his mother's not really wanted gifts, this time a set of forest green flannelette pjs with owls all over them. "Thanks." He grinned and sat down beside her. She straight away wrapped her arms around his waist again.

"So-o..." he cast around for a conversation topic. "Any plans yet for the next few days?" _Laaaame~ You might as well have talked about the weather._

"Nope!"

..._Okay, that went well... _Keiran sighed and fell back onto the bed, dragging Saphira with him; she giggled. "Look, Saph-" he started.

"You're tired, right? Just wanna sleep?" she guessed, from somewhere near his armpit.

"Um." _Not what I was going to say, but let's take the easy way out... "_Yeah... If that's alright with you?"

"Of course!"

_Was it my imagination, or did she just look relieved for a moment there? _"Er, okay..." Keiran extracted himself from her grip and got into bed properly, then opened his arms invitingly.

Grinning, Saphira wriggled in beside him and snuggled up close, using his chest as a pillow.

_At least it's not a really hot night... _Keiran thought, arranging his arms around her and sighing again. It'd been a long time since he'd had to share a bed with anyone, and it was going to take some getting used to the extra warmth. And there wasn't even any room on these tiny beds that if he did get too hot he could shuffle away a bit... _Here's hoping it stays cool._

He stroked her hair absently, gazing at the roof. This wasn't so bad, so long as she didn't move too much or anything.

Saphira shifted slightly to look up at him. "Don't I get a good night kiss?"

"Oh I dunno, do you deserve one?"

"I think I do," she said, pulling a most adorable face.

"Alright then," Keiran sighed dramatically, and she tugged herself higher using his collar, smiling.

She kissed him softly, then pulled back and looked into his eyes, frowning just a little.

"What's up?" he asked curiously.

"Oh!" her expression lightened suddenly, "nothing! Sorry, just had an unrelated thought."

Keiran raised his eyebrows at her. "Well we can't be having that..."

"Quite so!" she kissed him again, deeper this time. Much more satisfactory, but it was all Keiran could do to stop himself from losing it completely as she wound her hands into his hair. He kept his own hands on her face, to stop them wandering.

Luckily she seemed to remember they were supposed to be sleeping, and eventually released him and shuffled back down the chest level, peering up at him. "Love you."

"I love you too," Keiran replied, kissing her forehead. She smiled and snuggling against him, closed her eyes with a happy sigh.

Keiran returned his gaze to the roof. Yes, he did love her, he knew that much. He loved her a lot. What he didn't know anymore was whether sleeping with her, or _not _sleeping with her was going to damage their relationship more...

_This isn't good... _he thought, running the hand that wasn't around Saphira's shoulders through his hair. He was going to need some help, or he was going to ruin their relationship in the process of trying _not_ to ruin it.


	19. Part 19: A day at the beach

**And now for a slightly longer chapter…**

**Thanks for the comments, truly****~~ Love you guys. T^T**

**I'm in the process of drawing up a set of chibis of everyone for those that are interested. I'll keep you updated with how that turns out…**

**Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity**

**

* * *

**

Having not bothered closing the curtains, Keiran woke up with the sun the following morning, feeling much less stressed. Saphira was still curled up against him sleeping peacefully with the same little smile she had fallen asleep wearing, but at some point during the night she had managed to thread her legs between his. Handily, Keiran was a master of untangling himself from sleeping women's grips and managed to remove himself from bed without her so much as stirring. He gazed down at her for a moment, then turned and tiptoed for the door.

"Mm..." Saphira murmured.

Keiran froze, glancing over his shoulder. 'Mm' was the usual indication that last night's partner was aware of your absence. Now she would either sigh and roll over, or wake up. Usually, Keiran would have made a hasty dash for the door (to avoid tears or flying shoes or lectures) at this point, but as he had no reason to run from Saphira, he stood perfectly still, waiting.

Saphira half-rolled over, her hand searching the still-warm sheets beside her, and then she sat up.

"Morning." Keiran said pleasantly.

She blinked at him. "Why are you over there..?" she asked in a croaky my-first-sentence-of-the-day voice.

"I was hoping to go do my hair and shave before you woke up." Keiran didn't like how he looked with stubble; it just didn't seem like him when he looked in the mirror. "Also I need to pee."

"Charming." Saphira smiled sleepily, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"I'll be back, really."

"Ok. But don't shave or do anything with your hair."

"What? Why?"

"You get to see my morning hair, I get to see yours. It's only fair." she said easily, laying back down and tugging the blankets back over her shoulders.

"... But you can see it right now."

"You're standing on the opposite side of the room; I can't see diddlysquat."

"Fine, you win."

She smiled. "Of course I do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keiran pulled a face.

"Shut up and go pee."

He bowed deeply. "Yes, my lady."

"Go!"

"Can I brush my teeth?"

"NO! Just go!"

Chuckling, Keiran headed for the bathroom. After washing his hands he squinted at his reflection, trying not to do his hair. It was difficult but somehow he managed it and, feeling very scruffy, went back to the spare room.

Saphira scrutinised him as he walked in, closing the door softly behind him. "You didn't do anything with your hair?" she said sceptically.

"I swear to God, I did not." Keiran said. "I just stared at it a while."

"Hm..." she itched her chin and yawned again. "Aren't you coming back to bed?"

"Oh, did you want me to? I thought I made a good piece of decretive furniture-"

"Get your arse in here right now, Keiran le Lievre, and stop making stupid comments!"

Keiran opened and closed his mouth a few times as he stared at the lump of sheets that hid Saphira's face from view, trying to work out if her tone was serious, or just playing, but his intuition failed him; to be on the safe side he said nothing and submissively crept into bed beside her.

"Thank you." She giggled, arranging herself against him again.

"..." said Keiran, blinking down at the top of her head.

"Oh yeah!" she said suddenly, pushing herself up to look at him.

Keiran stared back, taking in her ruffled sandy hair that was sticking out in all sorts of directions and the fading red mark on her cheek from where she had been resting against his chest. She looked like a good-natured lion... with a red mark on its cheek. It was hard not to stare at it...

He yawned, and she chose that moment to run a hand along his stubbly jaw.

"Prickly." she commented, still stroking his face.

"Yes, that happens." he replied mildly, causing her to giggle as his chin tickled her hand. He raised an eyebrow.

She grinned. "Sec, I want to try something."

"Careful- morning breath." Keiran said warningly as she moved closer.

She laughed. "Who? Mine or yours?"

"I was meaning mine; I wouldn't know about yours, would I?"

"Would you like to?" she asked in a low voice.

"Yes, but no." Keiran replied with a grin, earning himself a slap on the chest. "Okay, yes?"

Saphira grinned, then kissed him. Keiran noticed her hands were still along his jaw. Maybe she'd never kissed a guy with stubble before, and the new experience intrigued her? Come to think of it, had she even had any boyfriends before him? Surely she must have..?

She pulled away, looking rather thoughtful as she rubbed her own chin.

"How's the stubble working out for you?" he asked.

"It's itchy."

"Yes it is." Keiran agreed, rubbing it and making a rasping sound.

She grinned. "I think I prefer you clean-shaven."

"That's good, so do I."

Saphira settled down beside him again. "Obviously, since I've never seen you with any facial hair before today. I was nearly convinced that you were one of those guys that _can't _grow it."

"Oh no, I grow it alright. I just hate it, so the moment I feel it I go shave."

"Random question," she said. "Is it blue when it's longer?"

Keiran laughed.

"What! It's a valid question! Blue's not exactly a common hair colour!" she said defensivly, slapping his chest again.

"Sorry, sorry!" he gasped, trying to regain his breath, "no, it's black. Like Darius' dad's goatee."

"I can't say I got close enough to him to tell..." Saphira pulled a face. "What colour does Darius' stubble go?"

"I couldn't say, I've never seen him with any substantial stubble. I _can_ say it's not the same colour as his hair, and is rather dark."

"Ohhh..." She fiddled with a button on his shirt idly. "Did you know you snore?"

"No I don't." he said instantly.

"Yeah, you do."

Keiran pouted. "I don't usually snore."

She looked thoughtfully at the roof. "Mum said that Dad only snores when he's sleeping on his back."

"Well there you have it then. I don't usually sleep on my back so it must be that that causes the snoring," Keiran said decisively.

She chuckled. "No need to get defensive - I was only saying. I don't mind at all."

"Hm," he said.

"So, what are you doing today?" Saphira asked, yawning again.

"Well, I was going to get up, and have a shower and shave, etc, etc, then I was going to go have breakfast-"

"Really."

"Yes."

"And then what?"

Keiran raised an eyebrow at her. "If you hadn't've interrupted I would have told you."

"Do continue."

"And after breakfast! I don't know."

Saphira laughed.

"I feel like travelling though... What'd'you think? Should we get some peoples together and go somewhere?" Keiran asked hopefully, watching her face light up.

Her smile slipped a little. "Would we be allowed?"

"... I dunno." he admitted, stretching. "There's only one thing for it."

"Which is?"

"There's only one person who thinks with enough maturity to know whether it's a good or bad idea." Keiran said. "We'll have to ask Darius."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"... Where were you planning on going?" Darius asked when they cornered him at breakfast and told him their half-formed plan. He looked very glad that Keiran had not killed himself overnight.

Keiran looked at Saphira, who shrugged. "Urm, Morroc?"

Darius itched his nose. "I would say not_." _He took in Saphira's crestfallen face and Keiran's frown at this, and continued. "Given the current situation with the murders, and the possible suspects... Going to Morroc really isn't the best idea."

"But we're going during the daytime." Saphira pointed out.

"Yes, but just because the bodies were found in the morning, it doesn't mean whoever did it killed them during the night."

As usual, Darius presented a fair point. Keiran pouted, already giving up on the idea.

"Ask Sir Kuronosu if you think I'm wrong."

"Fine, I will." Saphira said, getting to her feet and marching off determinedly to Kuronosu's end of the table. Keiran gaped for a moment, then leapt to his feet and ran after her, arriving at her side just as she said;

"Sir Kuronosu?"

The Paladin looked up from the crossword he was solving in the daily newspaper, and smiled. "Ah, Saphira... and Keiran, how can I help?"

"Sorry, to disturb you, Sir, but we were wondering if we'd be allowed to go to Morroc..?" she said in her most polite tones. "Today."

"Who is 'we'?"

"Keiran and I, and probably two or three of the other swordsmen."

Kuronosu gazed at her, obviously thinking about this. "No... No, I'm afraid not. Certainly not without someone to look after you..."

"But-" she started.

"I would offer to go myself, but I have a lot of work to be doing, marking exams and all." Kuronosu sighed. "So unless you can find someone who's willing to accompany you, I'm afraid you'll have to stay in Prontera." He shot them an apologetic smile.

_In Prontera?_ Keiran thought in disbelief. _We're not even allowed to leave town without someone to baby-sit us?_

"That's so harsh, Kuro." a Paladin (going by the rosary) on his left said. "It's not their fault there's a murderer targeting 1st classes."

"I know, Komi, but what else can I do?"

The Paladin Komi itched his stubbly chin and peered at the swordsmen consideringly. "How'd you kids like to go the beach for the day instead?"

Keiran found himself nodding automatically, even as Saphira turned to get his opinion. He'd only ever been to the beach once, and he had been very young.

"Komi, you don't have to-" Kuronosu started, but the other man waved him away.

"It's not a problem. Me and Killjoy and some of the others have been planning this for ages. There'll be so many of us that the seals won't even notice a few swordies," Komi said easily. Beside him Killjoy nodded once.

Kuronosu shrugged, and turned back to the swordsmen. "Looks like you're off to Kokomo for the day then. Not quite Morroc, but I'm sure it'll be more fun anyway. Lucky you... I wish I could go..." He looked wistfully at the roof.

"Next time, next time." Komi said, patting Kuronosu kindly on the shoulder, before looking at Keiran and Saphira, who were still hovering. "We'll be setting off from the courtyard at ten to ten, to catch our warp in town at ten. Don't worry about uniforms; bring your togs, some sunscreen, and as many friends as you like."

"Please remind Chris that he's grounded." Kuronosu added, returning to his crossword.

"Yes Sir." Keiran said. _I'll take great pleasure in doing so._

"And Keiran?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Don't push yourself too hard. You won't have recovered fully from yesterday yet."

"Yessir."

Kuronosu smiled vaguely at the puzzle.

"Off you go then," said Komi, waving his hand dismissively. "See you in an hour."

"Thank you, Sirs" Saphira gushed, bowing; then she grabbed Keiran's hand and dragged him away.

"Don't worry, Kuro." Keiran heard Komi say before he was out of hearing range, "We'll take good care of them."

"Yes, I know. I just can't help but worry, what with this..."

Keiran glanced over his shoulder; Kuronosu was staring down at his newspaper, open now on a different page, shaking his head.

"Does anyone have today's paper?" he asked when they had seated themselves back at their end of the table. Saphira shot him a confused glance; she looked like she was bursting to tell everyone about the beach, and must not have heard what Kuronosu had said.

Match passed his one across wearing a very sober expression. "Front page."

Spreading it out, Keiran found what he was looking for and groaned. Another murder... _Morroc's city guards found the mutilated body of a 14 year old girl early this morning, just outside the city's centre... _he read, raking his hair back.

A novice.

The freak killed _a novice._

Keiran pushed the paper away, feeling ill. He had been hoping against hope that they'd seen the end of it – last month no one had been killed... But it seemed that wasn't the case.

"...No wonder Sir Kuro doesn't want us going to Morroc..." Saphira said after reading the article.

Darius' looked up from his novel. "You'll be able to go some other time."

_Anyone else would have said 'I told you so'... _Keiran thought. "You wanna tell him where we're going instead, Saph? Or shall I?"

"Oh yeah! We're going to Kokomo beach!" she exclaimed.

"Oh really? I'm sure you'll have a great time." Darius said, picking up his book again.

Keiran snatched it out of his hands. "What the hell you talking about? You're coming too."

"... Must I?" Darius sighed.

"Yes, you must."

"Alright then."

"There's a good lad." Keiran slid the paperback back into his hands, grinning. "And the invitation is open to everyone too! Except for-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm grounded, I know." Chris muttered moodily.

At quarter to 10 the swordsmen filed out into the courtyard, chatting excitedly with their towels under their arms and their togs under the clothes they were wearing. Everyone had been keen to go, but many of the girls had already organised to be elsewhere, so it was only Saphira, Astarte and Yule who joined the guys (minus Chris, and Shiz who didn't want to go alone). Blank and Match had almost not come, with the excuse that they wanted some time to themselves. Keiran had informed them that they still had tomorrow for that, so why not go to the beach while they actually could, and they had changed their minds.

The group headed for Kokomo beach was a lot larger than Keiran had thought it would be. There were around 15 peco pecos, wearing the bare minimum of their gear, which in some cases was a piece of rope tied loosely around their necks, and about double that amount of people, also wearing the bare minimum. There was a lot of skin showing.

"Hey there!" someone on a pecopeco yelled, pushing their way through the crowd towards them. He shoved up his sunglasses and grinned down at them. It was Komi. "This everyone?"

"Yes Sir." Keiran replied cheerfully, his arm linked with Saphira's. Beside him Darius was squinting up at the sun, his novel wrapped carefully in his towel.

"No sir required - we're on holiday, remember!"

Keiran grinned in reply, and Komi spun his peco around and yelled "okay guys! Let's go!"

From somewhere close to the back of the group, Keiran had a good view of everyone as they walked steadily towards the town centre; they all looked excited, but prepared. A few had their sheathed swords clutched in one hand, and one even had his shield – of course, seals would be no problem for a Paladin, even an unarmed one, but a Crusader might have issues. That, and you could never predict exactly what would happen while you were out adventuring.

And then there were some people carrying long, wrapped poles and one or two were bouncing balls in front of them, obviously planning some beach game or another.

Keiran slung his arm around Saphira's shoulders, grinning widely – this day was looking good already. Perfect weather for the beach too, or so people kept telling each other, not a cloud in the sky and stinking hot. Even if it wasn't this hot in Comodo, getting away from Prontera's heat would be well worth it.

Keiran blinked. "Was that-?" he started, staring down an alleyway to his left. He could have sworn he had seen a flash of red that seemed somehow very familiar to him down there... But when he looked properly, it had gone.

Saphira looked quizzically up at him.

"Never mind..." Keiran said, smiling easily and fixing his attention back on the group. Speaking of familiar things, one of those guys up front on a peco had an awfully familiar head of silver-white hair...

"Good Lord," said the priestess who was presumably going to be warping them, taking in their numbers. "I know you organised for a large party, but I didn't think- You know I can only warp ten people at a time, right?"

Komi smiled, handing her a small black bag. "I'm sure you'll have no problem doing four warps."

She peered into it curiously, gasped, and hastily tucked it into her handbag. "No, sir. No problem at all."

"I didn't think so." Komi's smile was rather thin.

_Bribing the clergy for an extra warp or three... That's pretty low for a Paladin. _Keiran thought with amusement, looking around at the other party member's reactions to this. It seemed most people hadn't even noticed, but Killjoy, who was unmounted and looking rather odd in his yellow board shorts and baggy tee, carrying a purple chilly bin and a deck chair, seemed to disapprove and was scowling. He stayed quiet however, and went through the first warp with nothing more than a rumbling thank you to the rather flustered priestess.

The swordies, at Komi's direction, took the second warp.

Much to Keiran's relief, the warping process didn't cause his head to spin today, and he landed quite softly on some tussock grass, still arm in arm with Saphira.

"For God's sake!" someone was shouting.

"It's okay! The beach is just south a bit," someone else said.

The next party arrived, bringing Komi, who looked around, and rubbed his jaw. "Hm."

Keiran too looked around. Instead of being on a beach, with the sea in sight like he had thought they would be, they were standing beside a small patch of marshlands. He could hear the ocean if he listened very carefully and if everyone stopped yelling, but couldn't see it, or any sand for that matter.

"Maybe I shouldn't have tipped her so much." Komi said, nudging his peco around the fourth and last group as they appeared out of thin air.

"You shouldn't have tipped her anything, more like!" a woman shouted, "This isn't even the right field!" She pointed to her right, where an alligator was wandering along on its hind legs, minding its own business.

Several of the less annoyed people leapt forward to attack it, but before they had even drawn their weapons, someone on a pecopeco darted in front of them and lopped off the creature's head. He pulled his peco to a halt and, doing the impossible, managed to pick up the items the alligator had dropped, while still remaining seated. "Oh, a card, lucky me."

Those people who had not been annoyed before were now very annoyed.

Hikari, for that's who the peco-riding card-thief kill-stealer was, grinned widely and pushed his sunnies further up his nose before turning Sei in the direction of the ocean sounds and zooming away.

"Fucking-" someone started.

"Shh!"

Komi waved his hand soothingly. "Now, now. We all know Hikari does have that slightly annoying-" several people hissed "okay, _very _annoying habit, but he has other good qualities-" someone snorted "and today isn't about hunting, so it's not a problem anyway, right?"

There was no reply.

"_Right?_" Komi repeated, in a voice with blades attached.

"Yes Komi," his friends droned.

_Strange guy, this one..._ thought Keiran, peering up at him. He had black hair with a thick white line streaking it above his left temple, indicating he might have been injured there some time ago, and grey eyes. He looked to be in his late twenties and was quite heavily built, but of course it was all muscle. At face value he looked cheerful and friendly, but as he had already demonstrated, he seemed to have everyone wrapped around his little finger...

"Now let's get down to the beach before the hunters take all the good spots." Komi said, leading the way down the path Hikari had taken, ignoring the grumbling that was going on behind him.

It wasn't the easiest walk to the beach, in bare feet with the ground being rather rocky and boiling hot, but at least it was all downhill. Occasionally they would be attacked by small... _things_, apparently called ragglers, which only came mid way up Keiran's calf and he couldn't even work out what to compare them to before someone else ground them into the dirt with no effort at all.

But eventually they found the stone steps leading down to the expansive sandy beach, and the group's pace quickened, the goal in sight.

"Go right," Komi shouted at the people who were leading the group now, and as they reached the sand they swung immediately right and out of sight behind the cliff.

"Shit- shit shiiiiit! HOLY-" Blank swore, having just stepped off the stone steps and into the sand. He took off with surprising speed up the beach after the Paladins, his towel flapping on his arm. Match sighed and, wearing jandals, followed much more sedately.

Keiran watched him go; casting anxious glances from the steaming sand to the area they were heading to, which had some very inviting looking tents...

"Are you coming?" Darius asked impatiently, one hand on his hip. He too was wearing jandals, and seemed totally impassive to the burning sand.

"It's hot." Keiran replied thickly from the safety of the stone.

"You should have worn something on your feet." was the matter-of-factly reply to _that, _and Darius wandered off down the beach_._

Komi rode past, a smile on his face; his peco didn't even flinch as it stepped off the stone.

"Lucky bastard..." Keiran muttered under his breath, so quietly it was barely a whisper, and swallowed, looking back down at the sand.

"Keeeeeeeeeiran~~~~?"

He looked up - Saphira was arm in arm with Astarte further up the beach, waving at him. She, in all her heavenly perfectness, was also unaffected by the sand's evil powers.

Now he was just being stupid.

Tentatively, he placed one foot on the sand. Nothing happened. He moved his other foot beside it, and then took a step forward.

"HOLY FFFF-" he swore, and sprinted for the shade, the laughs of those crusaders who were still coming following him up the beach.

"Hot, eh?" Blank said when Keiran threw himself down beside him in the shade of a palm tree.

"Oouuuchiiies..." Keiran whimpered, burying his feet under the _cold_ sand. "I don't think I'll be able to-"

His complaint was cut short as Kiba galloped into their midst, swearing colourfully and hopping up and down while glaring at the pair of them like it was their fault the sand was hot.

Keiran shuffled over obligingly and allowed Kiba to share their shade, which he did gratefully.

"They could have _warned _us the sand would be at boiling temperature!" Kiba wailed, patting his feet in a bid to cool them down.

Blank snorted.

"What? I seem to remember you running down the beach screaming like a little girl." said Kiba, glaring at him.

"No, that was _you, _jackass."

"It was both of you." Keiran contributed. "And me too," he added when both Kiba and Blank fixed their venomous looks on him. "Saaaaph, they're being mean to me again!"

Saphira, who had just come over to visit, laughed, and ignoring Keiran's flailing arms, bent over to kiss him. Astarte pulled a face and dragged her away again, demanding that she help her make a sandcastle.

Keiran pouted. "So much for spending the day at the beach with my girl..."

"Mm." said Blank.

"Well they get their girl time, and we can have some quality man time for the first time in ages." Kiba said, playing with a fallen palm leaf.

Blank raised an eyebrow; Kiba failed to notice this, but Keiran did, and sniggered.

"What's funny?"

"You said man time."

"So? Is guy time better?"

"Not really." Keiran sniggered some more; Blank's eyebrow was now so high it was comical.

"I don't get it. What did I say?" Kiba asked, looking a little strained.

"We-ell, considering the present company," Keiran nodded at Blank, who leered, "er, 'quality man time' may not have been the best way of saying that."

Kiba stared at him blankly. "... Why?"

"Erm never mind."

"Because he's gay?" Kiba asked cautiously.

"Yes-"

"So?"

Keiran wilted, but was saved from further epic-failure by the arrival of Match and Darius, who required help setting up the rather large beach umbrella that they had procured from somewhere.

Just as they had finally got it set up and secured in the ground, Arthur meandered up, looking rather more cheerful than usual.

"Where were you hiding?" Keiran asked, plonking himself down between Kiba and Darius, who had already got his book open in front of him.

"Oh, nowhere," Arthur replied, smiling.

Keiran nudged Kiba, "why's he smiling like that?"

"How should I know? You're the expert at interrogation, why don't you ask?"

"Arthur, why are you smiling like that?" Keiran asked. Kiba face-palmed.

Arthur looked confused.

"I mean- there's nothing wrong with you smiling, but..." Keiran paused. "Actually, never mind." There was just no way he was going to get a straight answer without going around in circles.

"I like beaches." Arthur said, gazing off in the direction of the ocean, just visible over the dunes.

"There you go, you have your answer." Kiba muttered. "It's about as good as you'll get."

Arthur grinned.

"I think he might be sick." Keiran said, waving his hand in Arthur's face.

"Stop it." Arthur batted his hand away. "You're blocking the view."

"The view? What're you looking at anyway?" Keiran glanced over in the direction Arthur was staring in so ardently.

It was a nice view for sure, with the sand and the sea behind it, but what was drawing Keiran's eye more was the small group of bikini-clad females who were burying someone in the sand, therefore doing a lot of bending over...

Keiran looked back at Arthur – yes, he was most certainly looking in that direction. But surely not? _Arthur, _checking out girls at the beach? No, he must be looking at the view. Yes, the view. He glanced at 'the view' again; the girls were now sitting on the pile of sand that was the buried person, giggling.

"Nice view, hmm?" Keiran said, rather weakly.

"Mm."

Keiran suddenly became aware that someone was glaring at him, and he turned to see Darius observing him through very narrow eyes.

"Alright, alright, I get the message." Keiran sighed.

Arthur frowned in confusion, thinking he was talking to him. "Sorry?"

"Never mind- _Blank, _shut up."

"My bad." Blank sniggered. "I just love how Darius only has to fucking look at you to make you shut up."

"Yes, well. He has very good aim with that book of his." Keiran said defensively, digging a hole in the sand absently.

"Yeah right, he couldn't hit a bloody pupa if it was right under his nose."

Darius bonked him squarely on the top of the head with the spine of his novel, then settled back down as if nothing had happened.

"Fuckin-!" Blank blinked, rubbing the top of his head. "Oh my fucking God. Did he just-? He just fucking hit me." He said in total disbelief, staring at Darius, who smiled. "What the fuck!"

"I have a question." Keiran contributed, cutting off Blank's confused blabbering. "Why can everyone else beat you up, but the moment I try you kill me?"

"Because you're perfectly capable of fighting back, retard."

"Aaaand Darius and Match aren't?"

"Match is, well, my partner. And Darius is a fucking girl."

Blank waited. When nothing happened, he glanced at Darius, who hadn't looked up from his novel. "The fuck? I can call you a girl and not get hit, but you fucking beat me up for insulting your aim?"

Darius looked up politely, obviously he hadn't been listening. "Sorry?"

"..." said Blank, looking at Keiran and mouthing, '_you like him, why?'_

Handily no one else seemed to be able to lip-read.

Keiran grinned and stretched, only to have Blank punch him in the side mid-way through, ruining his mood until he got pay-back in the form of a handful of sand down his shorts. Match saved him from taking a physical beating, dragging the cursing Blank off to explore the tents, leaving Keiran with Darius and Arthur, who were both preoccupied, and Kiba, who appeared to be sulking.

"... What's up with you?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing much." he replied vaguely, his eyes narrowed in the general direction of Yule; she was wearing what could possibly be classed as a bikini, although it appeared to be nothing more than a few triangles of fabric and some string. As Keiran watched she tossed her hair over one shoulder and laughed, her gaze fixed on a tall, slender Crusader, who smiled softly at her and half turned away. Yule seemed unfazed, and engaged him once more in conversation.

"Ah." Keiran said. "I take it by the way you're still sitting here quietly that you two aren't together now..?"

Kiba snorted. "We never were."

"...If it's any consolation, she hasn't got a chance with that guy. Duo's extremely pious."

Kiba scowled at him instead. "What?"

"By that I mean her, err, attire probably offends him." Keiran said quickly. To back this theory up, Duo shook his head gently and held up a hand to quieten Yule, gesturing at her body with the other; her smile vanished immediately and she turned on her heel and swished off to join a group of more active looking males, who were playing volleyball.

Kiba grunted.

"You're not doing yourself any favours, sitting here."

"Shut up."

"You should go join their game." Keiran suggested. "Make her notice you."

"As if she'd notice me next to _them."_ Kiba nodded sharply at the players, all of whom were tanned and toned.

"Suit yourself, but she's not gonna think you're interested in her unless you fawn over her. She's that type of girl." _The type I don't like, _Keiran added to himself_._

Kiba said nothing, glaring at the volleyballers. Then, very suddenly, he jumped to his feet and stormed off in their direction.

Chuckling, Keiran lay back in the shade of the umbrella and closed his eyes. It was nice to finally relax after all the exam stress...

"Squeak."

"... squeak?" Keiran echoed, opening one eye.

Directly overhead was a large pink face, with huge black eyes and a short whiskered muzzle. It tilted its head and squeaked again.

Keiran sat up and spun around. "Darius-"

Darius glanced up, and froze, his book falling from his limp hand. "Oh no."

"Paladins- where-?" Keiran asked, not taking his eyes off the seal monster, which looked puzzled as it pushed its hood out of its eyes.

Darius shook his head and nudged Arthur, who yelped when he saw the monster. "We have to run."

"Good plan." Keiran agreed.

As one they leaped to their feet and sprinted for the nearest mob of crusaders, the seal ambling along behind them, easily keeping up- No, _catching _up.

"How is it so fast?" Keiran wailed, glancing over his shoulder – the seal was only a metre or so behind him. "Shiiiiiit, why _me?"_

"Shut up and _run_!" yelled Darius; he skidded to a halt when he saw just how close the seal was to his friend, and reached for the sword which wasn't there. He swore.

There was a sharp pain in Keiran's ankle and he went down cursing; he hastily rolled onto his back and started crawling backwards through the sand at high speed. The seal once more had that puzzled look on its face, as if it couldn't work out why the human had fallen over. It seemed to sort itself out and hopped towards Keiran again.

"Get up, idiot!" Darius hissed, hovering beside him in a half protective, half poised to run position.

"Can't." Keiran hissed back, clutching his bleeding foot as the seal came closer still. "Oh hell. Just go!"

"I won't leave you."

"GO." he ordered.

There was a whooshing noise, and then two loud THUDs, and Keiran found himself with a dead seal in his lap, four feathered arrow shafts protruding from the back of its head. "..."

"Good shot Elric!" a woman yelled, some metres down the beach.

Still in shock, Keiran raised his head slowly to see a finely built woman slap a well muscled man on the back. The guy smiled and slung his bow on his back.

"... Hunters." Darius murmured, waking from the trance both of them had been stuck in as the hunters came towards them.

"Snipers, actually." the woman corrected, then burst out laughing.

Keiran and Darius gaped at her.

"Sorry! I just find it so amusing that you guys were totally freaking out over one seal!" she roared with laughter again. In the background her companion seemed to be pretending he didn't know her. "What are you, novices?"

"Swordsmen, actually." Keiran said dryly.

"Well, either way, thank you- you just saved us." Darius said, inclining his head.

"No worries!" She grinned hugely, then paused, her smile frozen."... shit. Be right back." Just like that she turned and sprinted back off up the beach.

Her friend raised an eyebrow after her, and then turned to the swordsmen.

"Are you alright?" he asked, holding his gloved hand out to Keiran.

"I- I dunno." Keiran said. "It got my ankle."

"Can you stand?" He talked slowly, carefully, as if worried that talking faster would make him hard to understand.

"Maybe?" he tentatively took the sniper's hand and was pulled to his feet, sending the items dropped by the long since vanished seal tumbling off his lap. "Arrgh, no." He clutched at the man's well muscled arm for support as his leg refused to hold his weight.

"Here, lean on me." Darius offered.

Keiran gratefully accepted, and with the sniper's occasional assistance, managed to hobble to meet Arthur and a Paladin, who were rushing up the beach towards them.

"Oh good- you're alright." the Paladin said. "Kuro would have skinned us all if you'd been..." he trailed off, looking at Keiran's bloodied ankle, "hurt?"

"It's nothing. Just a cut or something." Keiran waved an arm vaguely. "I'll be fine."

"Don't be stupid. Sit." he commanded, and Darius lowered him to the sand.

While the Paladin fussed around his leg, Keiran surveyed the sniper inquisitively. Snipers weren't exactly common in Prontera – the hunter's guild was based in Payon, some distance away, and Keiran had had very little to do with them and therefore was keen to learn as much as possible about them while there was a specimen to study.

This one was dressed in black and white leather, trimmed with fur; his hooded jacket was sleeveless, revealing sizable biceps, around one of which was tied a long red ribbon. Keiran could think of no practical purpose for this, and decided it must purely be for aesthetic reasons.

"Alright, you're all done." the Paladin said, drawing his attention away from the sniper, who had produced a candy cane from somewhere and was munching on it quite contentedly.

Keiran looked at his ankle – it was quite normal looking now. "Thank you very much."

"No problem. Just, er... Stay closer to us next time?" He looked concerned; probably more for his own hide rather than for the swordsmen's.

"Yessir."

The Paladin wandered off to rejoin the group, who were all looking over curiously, leaving the three swordies with the sniper.

"..." said Keiran, then turned to Arthur. "_Shit _you run fast."

Arthur blinked. "Oh. Sorry about that, I didn't know you were that far behind."

Keiran waved his apologies away, "you beat Darius! He's like... running champion and you seriously outstripped him."

Arthur shrugged, and Darius sighed.

There was a funny noise from behind him, and Keiran turned to see the sniper chuckling to himself as he unwrapped a second candy cane. He caught Keiran's eye and looked a little guilty. "I am sorry."

"Er, that's okay?"

"I haven't introduced myself, my apologies; my name is Elric Bastian." he said slowly with a heavy accent, and held out his hand to Keiran, who wondered briefly why he'd picked him as the leader of their little group.

"I'm Keiran, and this is Darius, and Arthur."

Elric shook hands with each of them, and stood back, his blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully, focused on something over Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur, would you be so kind as to step three paces to the left?"

"Uh, okay?" Arthur did so, just as something huge, winged and feathery soared through the space he had been occupying, over Elric's outstretched arm, and landed on his shoulder; Elric winced, and the falcon glared at him briefly before tearing into the unfortunate creature it had clutched in its talons.

"... Thank you, Falcon." Elric said with a sigh. "Yes, you can eat it."

After recovering from his initial fright, Keiran wrinkled his nose; the falcon had lifted its head, complete with a lump of bloodied fur, and dropped it down Elric's jacket. _And people think pecos are disgusting..._

As if it could hear Keiran's thoughts, the bird turned its head toward him, the deep brown eyes burning in that way only birds of prey can achieve. It was a handsome creature, there was no doubt about it, but its table manners were appalling.

Suddenly it screeched and flared its wings, beating Elric over the head in the process, and glared as an almost purplish-grey falcon glided overhead, shrieking, to land gently on the fist of the female sniper, who was walking down the beach towards them. She removed the tiny creature from its beak and offered it something from her pocket, which it accepted before positioning itself more comfortably on her wrist.

"Oi, Elric, stop pestering the kids already!" she yelled, stroking her bird's chest feathers.

"He's not pestering us." said Darius, who seemed fascinated by the falcons and was watching Elric's black and grey bird plucking its meal. Arthur, on the other hand, looked ill.

"Oh?" she glanced at Elric. "Why are you still here then?"

"I was introducing myself - I thought it would only be polite."

"I see." She raised an eyebrow, and then turned to the swordsmen. "I'm Amelia, and this is Mace." she poked the falcon in the chest; it glared at her. Her uniform was of brown leather, but she also had the red ribbon around her arm – a class symbol, maybe, like a Paladin's extra-long cape?

"Are you from the hunter's guild?" Darius asked.

"I am." Amelia replied, gesturing to the wing-shaped badge on her chest, "Elric here is from the hunter's guild way up north – I'm just showing him around, explaining the rules of the land, you know." she waved a hand vaguely; Mace hissed at it.

"Up North?" Keiran blinked.

"Yeah, apparently it's very cold, where he comes from."

"What, like Lutie?"

"_Apparently _it's a lot colder than Lutie." the sniper said, "and a lot further north."

_Can he not speak for himself?_ Keiran wondered, looking at Elric, who seemed totally at ease as he munched on a potato chip, his front now coated in snowy white fur, courtesy of his bird.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" said Blank, meandering up. "I heard you already got attacked by a bloody seal and yet you're still hovering in the middle of the Godforsaken beach?"

"We're talking to these people." Keiran explained, nodding politely to the snipers.

Blank looked at them. "Ah. ... Well, either way, Komi just about frickin' killed that Paladin before when he told him what had happened; Komi wants us all to stay with him now, so unless you want to die, I'd suggest you get your arses over there."

"Oh he needn't worry – we're far more adept at killing seals than a Paladin anyway." Amelia said breezily, waving her arm and sending her falcon into the air, shrieking in protest.

"You try telling that to him." Blank said simply, watched the bird circle overhead for a moment, then turned and went to join Match.

"I suppose we should go then." Darius sighed, smiling at the snipers. "Thank you once again for saving us."

"No sweat." Amelia grinned. "See you guys around sometime." Mace called, and she glanced up. "OH! Mobster! Come on Elric, let's go!" With a whoosh she sprinted off up the beach after her falcon, dragging her bow off her back as she went.

"..." said Elric, and smiling apologetically at the swordsmen, followed after her.

"What was that all about?" Keiran asked.

"I heard that snipers can communicate with their falcons." Arthur said thoughtfully.

"So her falcon... told her it had spotted something?"

"It's highly plausible. After all, knights and crusaders are often thought to speak with their pecopecos, so why not a hunter and his bird?" Darius contributed, starting off towards the main group, with Arthur and Keiran close behind, then added; "Of course crusaders don't actually understand what their pecos are saying – they just know them well enough to get the general idea."

"Guess so." Keiran said vaguely.

Darius sat himself down under the umbrella again and picked up his book, as if nothing had ever happened. The crusaders had moved closer now, and were doing a very good job of slaughtering any seal that came nearby. When they had all settled down again, Blank and Match came and joined them, holding hands and not saying much.

"Where's Saph?" Keiran asked, looking around for her – Kiba was over there, rubbing sunblock into Yule's back, but Saphira and Astarte were nowhere to be seen.

Blank shrugged, "she was over by the water before with Star and a couple of other chicks."

"Where?"

"About there-ish." Blank pointed – there was no one there now.

Worried, Keiran got to his feet with the intention of going to find her, but before he had even taken a step he was jumped on from behind and forced to his knees, a pair of hands clamped over his eyes.

"Guess who!" said someone, who was obviously Saphira.

"Um! Santa?" Keiran guessed, grinning.

She laughed, "no!"

"The tooth fairy?"

"Wrong again."

"I don't know then." Keiran said. "Do I know you?"

"Yes." she giggled.

"Could you be- no, no... I don't think so..." Keiran itched his chin.

"Hmm?"

"You're not... my... mother?"

Saphira cracked up, letting her hands fall.

"... Man you guys are crazy." Astarte observed, her eyebrows raised, an expression shared by many of their group.

Keiran sat down again, tugging Saphira onto his lap. She was wearing a bikini and short boardshorts, and looked _very _hot...

She stuffed a bottle of sunblock in his face, "do my back, please."

"Yes, my lady." Keiran held out his hand and she squeezed some out for him, and he set to work. Saphira amused herself by burying his legs in sand, quickly joined by Astarte; and so, by the time Saphira was sufficiently sunblocked, he was trapped – covered in sand from the knees down.

"... thanks." he said, wiggling his toes. A little crater appeared in the covering, and both girls shrieked, pouring on more sand.

"Don't move!" Saphira commanded, hopping off his legs, and started burying his thighs too.

"Am I going to be buried alive?" Keiran asked in mock despair.

"Yes," she replied simply. "Lay down."

He did as he was told, sighing.

Blank sniggered. "Such a fucking pushover."

"Be quiet or you're next." Saphira said, piling sand onto Keiran's chest.

Blank raised his eyebrows at her.

"Nah, if you're gonna bury anyone, bury Arthur – it might get some reaction out of him when he wakes up." said Keiran, nodding in Arthur's direction – he had gone to sleep as soon as he'd sat down.

"You want a reaction from him?" Blank sneered, "wake him up for me." Beside him, Match sighed in a here-we-go-again sort of way.

Curious to see what Blank had to share, Keiran jabbed Arthur in the side with his single free arm.

Arthur blinked, and then sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Hm?"

"Oi Arthur," Blank called, "how'd you like to have a threesome sometime? You know, just me, Match and you." he said the last part of the sentence in a low, seductive tone, leaning closer to him.

Arthur leaped to his feet, backing away with his hands raised as a surprising amount of emotions rushed across his face including shock, horror and fear. "I- no. No. No th-thank you. I have to go, er, somewhere." he stammered quickly, and turned and bolted.

Blank roared with laughter, and Keiran joined in, his laughter causing cracks to appear in his blanket of sand – the girls immediately filled them in.

"What the hell!" he spluttered. "He seriously thought you were serious!"

"Fuck, I know eh." Blank leered. "He's so scared of me – it's fucking hilarious. The rest of you guys are like, 'oh Blank's gay, whatever' and he's like, 'oh my God he's gunna fucking rape me!'"

Match sighed again. "Did you stop and consider the fact that _maybe _he hasn't had any past experience with gays?"

"Why'd I do that? I _love _hassling that guy." Blank laughed again.

"Wonder why he's so sensitive about it," said Keiran ponderously, looking at the sky, chuckling occasionally.

"Dunno. Don't care." Blank said, sneering. "I enjoy seeing himpanic whenever he ends up alone in the same room as me."

Darius looked up from his book and glanced from Keiran to Blank, narrowed his eyes as if he wanted to tell them off, then went back to reading without a word.

Keiran grinned at him upside-down, and ended up with sand in his mouth as Astarte tried to bury his neck. He spat it out with difficulty, swearing at her; she only laughed.

Once Keiran's body was completely lost beneath the sand, Astarte went off to do something else, thankfully leaving Saphira behind this time, although being stuck under the sand meant he couldn't do a hell of a lot with her.

"Aww..." she said, patting his head as he voiced his complaints.

He poked out his bottom lip. "I just wanted a cuddle... maybe a kiss or two, but now..." he trailed off sadly. Blank and Match had moved off a way, so he didn't have to worry about anyone snorting at him for being a pansy, not that he usually did. Worry, that is.

"Aw you poor thing," she bent over and kissed his forehead, providing him with a full view of her cleavage, which he, as it was in his face, felt he was entitled to stare at.

"I know." he sniffed, and ended up inhaling her scent. It was probably a good thing he was covered in sand and unable to move easily or he'd have tackled her by now...

Softly she brushed his fringe out of his face and kissed his lips, a hand on either side of his face; then she shifted until she was lying on top of him and continued the kiss.

"I- think- this could- be- classed as- sexual assault-" Keiran said, between kisses.

Saphira pulled back and looked at him severely. "Don't be silly, it's only assault if you don't give consent."

He raised an eyebrow. "Who says I gave consent?"

"Er you did, about five minutes ago."

"Oh. Come 'ere then."

She laughed and kissed him again, and continued to do so until Darius cleared his throat loudly over their heads. "I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that our group is on the move again."

"Oh," said Keiran, spitting some of Saphira's hair out of his mouth, "where are we going?"

"To the water, it seems."

"Oh good, I can get all the sand out of my shorts." Keiran lifted his arms in a cascade of sand, and wrapped them around Saphira as he wiggled his legs free.

"Aww!" she whined.

"I'm not going to lie here with my head poking out for seals to chew on, thanks all the same." Keiran said.

"We could cover your bloody head too if you like – do us all a favour." Blank contributed, stepping dangerously close to Keiran's buried midriff on his way past.

"Careful!" Saphira said, pulling a face at him.

Keiran extracted himself from the sand and stood up, shaking it out of his shorts and his hair. "I do hope you're happy." he said to Saphira as she seized his hand.

She grinned in reply and they followed the rest of the group down to the ocean.

Keiran sat just at the edge of where the waves were currently reaching and gazed out to sea. He liked water, loved pools and even rivers, but he wasn't so sure about the ocean – it was so huge and unpredictable, the way the waves gathered up like that, sometimes not even touching the sand before they faded away, and other times sending frothy water crashing all around him; and the pull as it ran back down the beach – it was so strong...

"Can't you swim?" Saphira asked curiously, emerging from the waves where a water fight seemed to be going on, to stand before him, her hair dripping.

"Oh, yeah, I can swim fine." Keiran said, smiling.

"Come on then." she said, holding out her hand to him.

He couldn't refuse and so was led into the ocean. He hesitated when the water was just over his knees – the sand beneath his feet was shifting and he didn't like it, and being this far in left him feeling like he couldn't escape if something went wrong, even though most of the swimmers were still a lot further out.

Saphira looked at him quizzically. "What's wrong?"

Keiran looked at the water swirling around his legs, then back up at her.

She moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you scared of the sea?" she asked quietly; there was no teasing in her tone.

"Not scared, just... wary." he muttered.

"You needn't be; there are plenty of people around that have experience with the ocean - they'll notice if you get in trouble, and come help." she smiled, "okay?"

"Okay."

Saphira kissed him gently, and then took his hand again. "Come on then."

Soon enough they were jumping waves with some other crusaders and having a great time, even Darius put away his book to come out and swim around them with powerful strokes as they played. Keiran was nearly killed as someone's pecopeco decided it has had enough and, throwing its rider into the sea, made for the shore, disregarding the people in the way – but Hikari came out of nowhere and caught the runaway before it caused any serious damage, returned it to its owner, and came to check that everyone was okay.

Keiran plucked up the courage to ask for a ride on Sei; Hikari had laughed, but tugged him onboard and they had splashed around for a good quarter hour until the other swordsmen complained. Sei was then submitted to more torture as each swordsman had a turn.

Someone had found a huge beach ball and it was being tossed around their large group, adding more amusement as it would keep hitting unprepared people on the head, or better yet, unprepared pecos, which would shriek and bolt for the shore.

Match and Blank had retired to the beach, and were now making out in the surf, entertaining a mob of giggling girls who looked like their Christmas had come early. Another beach game had started up just out of the wave's reach, causing people from all over to take a break from their training or hunting to join in. Yule was playing again, and Kiba was sitting on the sidelines cheering her on.

Arthur sat nearby, watching the game as he towel dried his hair. Next to him, Darius snoozed on his beach towel, his book open on his bare chest and one arm behind his head.

Astarte had ended up still sitting on Sei and was chatting quite animatedly with Hikari about his methods of peco training, which she seemed to find fascinating, as the peco dozed in the shallows.

Keiran dodged the beach ball and looked around for Saphira – she wasn't far off, of course; she hadn't gone more than a few metres away since he had admitted his fears. But he was feeling more confident now – he was up to his armpits in water, which meant Saphira actually had to swim to keep her mouth above the surface, but the pull of the sand was nowhere near as bad and it was that that had been bothering him most.

Later, they swam back to shore together and sat in the sun to dry off, watching an assassin leading seven or eight seals around the beach; occasionally he'd lose one to a greedy hunter, and he'd swear at them violently. He needn't have bothered however as each one that was stolen was replaced by two more that would appear out of nowhere and join the chase until he had nearly twenty seals following him; then suddenly he vanished, leaving the seals looking around in confusion, and out of the ground beneath them came huge spears of rock, piercing the seals from all directions before cracking apart to be replaced by new ones. The seals squeaked in protest, trying to get away, but the spikes came too quickly and they remained trapped, until as one, the seals collapsed and vanished.

"Grimtooth." someone behind them said.

Keiran jumped and stared over his shoulder – it was the sniper Elric and his falcon; they were both watching the assassin, now visible once more, curiously.

"This is a good place for them to train too, it seems." he said thoughtfully, chewing on something.

"Who's he?" Saphira whispered to Keiran.

"Elric, he helped us out before," he muttered back. "He's a sniper."

"Yo, got any cash?" Someone else asked, meandering up to them with a towel around his neck and goggles on his forehead, pushing back his flaming red hair.

Elric's falcon swung his head around to glare at the person, and clicked his beak.

"Um, no sorry." Keiran said.

The man pulled a face- and was struck in the chest by an arrow, sending him staggering back several paces.

"I suggest you get out of here" Elric said, suddenly standing in front of the swordsmen, who were paralyzed with shock.

"Why- why did you shoot him?" Saphira demanded, getting to her feet.

"It is a monster." the sniper said simply. "The mobster."

The mobster spat on the sand, rubbing his breastbone. "A simple 'no' would've been great ya know."

Elric grabbed his falcon by the legs (at least that's what it looked like – in truth the bird had very quickly transferred itself from his shoulder to his hand), and tossed it into the air; it screamed and charged straight at the mobster, while Elric slotted two arrows into his bow and drew it back with amazing ease, aiming briefly and setting them flying. The falcon ceased clawing at the monster's face and flew up, just at the arrows struck.

The mobster seemed totally unfazed, and with the falcon dive-bombing him continuously, ambled forwards, the arrow shafts quivering in his chest. "What 'bout you, girly? Got any cash?"

Keiran finally sprang to life, seizing Saphira's hand and dragging her over to the safety of the guild group, who had packed up their stuff and were watching the proceedings while they waited for a few stragglers to catch up.

The mobster looked at their group, blinked a few times as arrows rained down from the sky, and then suddenly sprinted up to Elric, grabbed something from his pocket, and, giggling madly, ran away, looking very comical with his jandals flapping.

"That's my wallet, you-!" Elric exclaimed in anger, "Wind walk!" There was a noise like a gust of wind and the sniper, swearing in a foreign language, charged after the monster, reloading his bow as he went.

The crusaders stared after them in dazed amusement.

"Ahem." said Komi, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Time to go home. _So, _could you check your group of friends and make sure we have everyone, and those that don't have one come collect a b-wing off me."

"B-wing?" Saphira asked.

"Butterfly wing." Darius said, pulling one out of his pocket to show her. "They teleport you directly to wherever you call home."

"Ooh..." she said, gazing at the small blue wing. "It's pretty."

Keiran, meanwhile, was doing a roll check, but as it seemed everyone was present, he joined the queue for butterfly wings.

About five minutes later they were all standing in the castle courtyard, covered in sand and smelling strongly of salt.

Kuronosu was sitting by the door with a pile of papers on his knee, but got to his feet as those without pecos to see to made for the showers. Keiran noticed his eyes scanning over the swordsmen, checking they were all there and in one piece.

"No problems?" he asked.

"Nope." Komi grinned, dismounting from his peco and starting unstrapping the various things that had been attached to it. While Kuronosu turned away to talk to Killjoy, Komi shot Keiran a sharp look which said 'if you tell him you were hurt I'll hurt you some more'.

Keiran nodded – he had no intention of telling Kuronosu anything that would worry him more - and headed inside, still shaking sand out of his shorts.


	20. Part 20: Trouble with a capital T

Love you guys~~~! And welcome to those who've just joined us. :3 Review and I shall love you forever, no jokes.

Sorry about the delay with this, uni was being time consuming and annoying. But here you go, another chapter of a decent length. Just a forewarning – the next chapter will be really tiny, but I'll upload it sooner. Or something. 8D

Alsoooo, I'd prefer it that if you have any problems with the next couple of chapters, keep them to yourselves. Thanks.

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

Exhausted but happy, Keiran and the other swordsmen who had spent the day at Kokomo beach had a quiet, uneventful evening in the common room, sharing the day's tales with those who hadn't gone. Keiran hadn't paid them any attention however – he had been too lost in his own thoughts. It was nearing bedtime, and Saphira had asked if they could sleep in the spare room again... His stomach fluttered at the thought with nerves and excitement. Could tonight be the night? Best not to get your hopes up... he told himself as he tugged his pyjamas on.

"Are you sleeping with Saphira again tonight?" Darius asked, watching him fussing with his hair in front of the mirror.

"Please don't word it like that." Keiran groaned. "But yes." He smiled apologetically at his friend. "Sorry."

Darius smiled back. "It's alright with me – it means I don't have to worry about your snoring keeping me awake."

"I do not snore!" he exclaimed in despair, then noticed that Darius' grin was thinner than normal. "Oh, you were joking."

"Was I?" Darius raised his eyebrows.

"You had better've been."

"Or what?"

"Or..." Keiran fished around his head for a suitable punishment, "Or I'll never talk to you again!"

"Oh no, that would be terrible."

"Don't you get smart with me either!"

"My apologies." Darius said, settling himself into bed with his book. "Have a good night, won't you?"

"Trying to get rid of me now?"

"No. I was under the impression you were leaving, since you're standing beside the door."

Keiran glanced at his hand on the door handle. "... FINE, you win this one, but next time you won't be so lucky!"

Darius chuckled. "Good night, Keiran."

"Hmph!" Keiran slammed the door behind him as he departed, marching down to the spare room making as much noise as was possible in a stone building wearing pj's and bare feet.

Outside the bedroom door he paused and took a moment to compose himself. He'd be fine. It would be just like last night – some cuddling and harmless kissing before they went to sleep... He took a deep breath and opened the door.

_I'll be absolutely... fine..._ Keiran stopped and stared, his train of thought lost. Or not so much lost as completely off track- derailed and heading at full tilt towards disaster, the driver screaming his head off, almost certain to meet its end in the form of a huge explosion.

Saphira was sitting on the edge of the bed, her sandy hair loose and flowing around her shoulders; her crossed legs were bare, all the way up- Keiran felt woozy looking at them. She wasn't wearing boxers even… In fact, the only thing she appeared to be wearing was the rather lacy, strappy, ivory, silken nightdress. _Oh God..._ Keiran stared at her, his mind racing as he took everything in. Her pose, the clothes, the shy expression on her face... _Oh my God..._ It was unbearable.

"I feel... overdressed." he said unsteadily, his heart beating wildly as he moved closer, gesturing at his own pyjamas.

She grinned and stood up, stepping into his arms and wrapping hers around his waist. "I hope you don't mind? Just that it's a hot night. If it makes you uncomfortable I can find some more clothes-"

"No!" Keiran blurted. "I mean no. It's fine." He took her by the shoulders, holding her away from him to look at her again. "You look gorgeous."

Saphira blushed, and he folded her in his arms again, very, _very _aware of how her curves fitted against his body; the feel of her hands on his back. He was feeling more than a little disappointed – he had seriously thought for a moment there that she was inviting him to sleep with her... But everything since she had stood up had been normal Saphira behaviour... What was he going to do with himself now?

As he stared at the far wall for help, Keiran felt Saphira's hands on the outside of his shirt, undoing the buttons one by one. _Don't get excited,_ he told himself forcefully, _she usually takes your shirt off._ Despite this, Keiran's heart rate quickened again and he bit his lip as she pushed his pyjama top off his shoulders completely.

Unable to do nothing any longer, Keiran suddenly tugged her closer and kissed her deeply; she clung to him with just as much force, one hand in his hair, the other on his back. The kiss did nothing to cure his lust, but only added to it, as did the taste of her in his mouth and the way she gasped as she broke the kiss.

He stared down at her with hungry eyes, his chest heaving, and she looked back up at him, her lips slightly apart.

"Keiran-" she started quietly, her beautiful eyes seemed so pained...

"Shh..." Kissing her again, softer this time, he backed her up carefully until she was sitting on the edge of the bed, then pushed her down, ever so gently, only breaking the kiss long enough to arrange himself over her, their bodies not quite touching, before starting again passionately.

"Mm-" Saphira managed, seizing him around the chest and pulling him down on top of her, seemingly not worried about his weight, but more craving it – just as he craved for the feel of her body against his.

Slowly he moved from kissing her mouth onto her neck, and she responded by tilting her head back and wrapping her hands around the back of his neck as he placed soft kisses across her collar bones. At the same time he ran a hand softly up her thigh, pushing up that tiny dress that had got him so wound up...

"...Nn-" she shifted beneath him, away from his touch on her hip, where he had been toying with the band on her underwear. He removed his hand quietly for now, returning it to her shoulder as he kissed lower still on her chest, pushing aside that thin strap that prevented him exploring even lower. She was shaking, very slightly... With what? Excitement? Cold?

Keiran planted a light kiss on one of her breasts, moving his mouth softly across it as he sought to move aside more of the thin material that hid them.

Then suddenly she grabbed his wandering hand and gripped it tightly, preventing it from continuing to undress her.

"Keiran..." she said, her voice strained. "Please..."

He glanced up at her face anxiously – there was no way that had been a plea to hurry up; had he hurt her somehow? She was looking at him, her expression torn…

She was scared, terrified even. Keiran sobered up immediately seeing such obvious fear on her face, mixed in with the clear desire for him and also, regret.

"I'm sorry, I-" he stammered, glanced down at her half-bared breasts, before rolling off her and turning away in shame. "I'm so sorry... "

Behind him, he heard the quiet sounds of her redressing herself and she sat up. "Please, don't be... It's not your fault" she whispered. "I just... I don't think I'm ready yet."

Keiran gritted his teeth. _Not ready…_"I understand." He took a deep breath, willing himself calm with little success. "I can wait." _For how long..?_

"Thank you..."

He shot her a small smile over his shoulder; she looked so upset with herself. But that was nothing to how he was going to feel in a minute – there was no way he was going to be able to sleep in the same bed as her tonight, not when he was still so tightly wound up – he had to leave, now. He stood up, careful to keep his back to her so she wouldn't see just how wound up he was.

"Are you leaving?" she asked quietly.

Keiran swallowed painfully. "Yes... I have to... calm down. I- I'm sorry, I don't think I can- I... I don't think I'll be coming back tonight." he babbled. "I'm so sorry."

"That's alright." she said, in that same low, guilty tone.

He opened his mouth to ask if this was going to change anything between them, but changed his mind and headed for the door. "Good night." he muttered, and left her sitting on the bed.

Cursing himself silently, he swept down the corridor and into the bathroom, where his curses found a voice and he swore at himself and his stupidity and lack of self control and beat his head against the mirror for a good ten minutes until he ran out of steam. Then he stared at himself in the mirror mutely for a moment.

"Idiot…" he muttered. "Fucking stupid, _retarded piece _of-" he groaned in frustration and turned on the cold tap, stuffing his head under it in attempt to cool down.

This tactic worked, but left him shivering and with a splitting headache as he headed for his own bedroom where there was only Darius, who thankfully, would not be wearing a lacy nightdress and even if he was it would be more comical than sexy and therefore not a problem. He let himself in quietly and crawled into bed, feeling Darius' eyes follow him across the room as he put aside his book and glasses for the night.

_Stupid... _Keiran thought to himself angrily, curling up on his side facing the wall. _Why couldn't I have waited until she was ready? _

'Cause she _is _ready, the other voice said; Keiran wished it would stop talking to him – he was starting to feel a bit schizophrenic. She _wanted _you.

_But she was scared of me..._

Not scared of _you - _scared of sex.

_How can anyone be scared of sex?_

"Keiran..?" Darius asked cautiously, snapping Keiran from his internal conflict.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

He thought about it for a moment. "No."

"Is it anything I can help with?"

Keiran sighed and rolled onto his back. "Probably not."

Darius didn't reply, but continued to watch him through concerned eyes as they sat in silence for several minutes.

"...You're a virgin, aren't you?" Keiran asked eventually, staring at the roof.

Darius made a strange choking noise that might have been the start of a disbelieving laugh, but it was very short-lived as Keiran wasn't smiling. "Yes."

"How do you cope?" Keiran looked at him sideways. "You know, without sex."

"I guess... I guess I just don't know what I'm missing out on." Darius admitted, looking a bit uncomfortable with this topic of conversation.

Keiran considered this for a moment. But he couldn't come to terms with how any man, let alone one as striking as Darius, could get through life without sex – it just didn't seem possible to him. Surely Darius had all the same impulses as he did? "Are you... scared of it?"

"Scared?" Darius blinked. "No?" Then a look of sudden understanding appeared on his face. "Ahh. I see."

"What do you see?" Keiran sighed.

"What you need to understand, Keiran, is that it's different for men and women-"

"I know that!" he cried. "I just don't get how she can

be scared of me – I couldn't hurt her if I wanted to. She knows I wouldn't hurt her..."

"Can you guarantee that?"

Keiran winced. "No, but-"

"Just be patient." Darius said, smiling softly at him. "She'll let you know when she's ready."

_But she is ready_. Keiran gave a frustrated sigh and swung himself from bed again, marching for the door.

"Where are you going?" Darius asked, sounding somewhat alarmed.

"For a walk... Clear my head a bit." he muttered evasively, grabbing something from beside the wardrobe on the way past. Out in the hallway he paused and looked at Saphira's sword – she had left it in his room earlier when she'd remembered they didn't need to take gear with them to the beach... It was a fine blade, bought with the money she had earned while out training, beautiful and perfect... Just like her. He slid it back into its sheath carefully.

_Why did I pick this up?_ he wondered, trailing a finger over the hilt absently. _Was I going to take it back to her..? Now?_

He glanced down the hallway in the direction of the girls' rooms, considering his options. He could go back to bed and leave the sword for tomorrow, or he could go and return it now, and- and what? Apologise again?

Finally he made up his mind and headed in the direction of Saphira and Astarte's room. He could always just leave the sword outside the door if he couldn't think of anything to say to her before her got there... If she was even there that was – she might have decided to spend the night in the spare room.

As he approached, Keiran became aware that someone was talking up ahead... Two people talking, two _girls_, in one of the rooms... _Saphira's room... _

He shuddered to a halt. From here he could see that their bedroom door was slightly open. This wasn't part of the plan.

Then he heard his name. _They're talking about me. _He felt his heart sink. No doubt discussing how pathetic he was... He edged forwards until he was hovering just beside the door; out of sight, but well within hearing range. _Eavesdropping... What will I descend to next?_

"No- I don't care about getting pregnant; it's not that I'm worried about... I'm just so scared he'll hurt me." Saphira was saying.

"Come off it, it's Keiran we're talking about here." Astarte replied. "He wouldn't hurt a fly." she paused for a moment, then added; "Unless that fly was checking you out."

Saphira gave a watery giggle. "I know he wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but..." she trailed off.

"Look Saph, I know how you feel - I was a little scared to start with too. Yes, it does hurt the first time, but believe me; the pleasure far out-weighs the pain. And you'll feel so much closer to him."

Saphira didn't reply.

"He's not going to hurt you anymore than he has to, and I'm sure he'll hate himself even for that. You just have to trust him." Astarte said kindly.

"I just..." Saphira muttered; Keiran leaned closer to hear better. "I don't know what to do. I love him, I really do, and ... I- I _want _to ... sleep with him, but, I _can't_... And then I see that look in his eyes, and I can't help but wonder if he does love me like he says, or... if he just wants to sleep with me."

_No... No! That's not true! _Keiran wanted to yell. _It's not true!_ He sagged against the wall, his stomach twisting painfully.

"No. That's not true." Astarte said forcefully. "He loves you, Saph. I know he does. The way he looks at you isn't in any way like the way a guy looks at a girl he just wants to screw. Yes, he wants to sleep with you, but what guy in their right mind wouldn't? I mean, come on, you're _fine, _girl!"

Saphira giggled very slightly again.

"If it helps," Astarte continued in a quiet tone, "even a little, don't think of it as sex, or him sleeping with you - think of it as him making love to you, because that's what it will be."

Keiran's heart wrenched with gratitude towards Astarte – she was explaining everything to Saphira, everything that he wanted to say but couldn't even begin to put into words.

"And if you still don't believe he loves you, why do you think he's waited so long before finally making a move? If he's really the player you say he is, or was, then he would have tried getting you to sleep with him within a week. But here we are, four months later, and he's only just made a move." She paused again. "If he dumps you in the next couple of days, we'll know I was wrong."

Saphira made a choking noise.

"Think about it realistically for a moment Saph, or from his point of view. Some guys can handle not having sex, and others can't. Judging from Keiran's change in attitude recently, I'd say he fits into the _can't_ category."

_My attitude's changed?_ Keiran thought, taken aback. W_hen? How? _But Blank had noticed it too, hadn't he? He had spotted instantly that Keiran wasn't getting any action... Was it really that obvious? Did it really change him that much?

"You're probably driving him insane." Astarte continued softly. "You need to think about this seriously – do you love him enough to overcome your fears for him? If you don't, then I would consider letting him go."

There was the sound of bed springs, and rustling sheets filled the silence that followed this suggestion, and then Astarte's voice, "shhhh hun. I'm sorry, but I think you needed to know. I don't want you to get hurt."

Saphira let out a sob, and Keiran winced, standing up to leave – he didn't want to hear her crying because of him, not when he couldn't be there to comfort her.

"There are other ways of satisfying him without him being inside you, you know." Astarte said quietly; Keiran paused. "And if you wanted, he could do the same for you-"

"I- d-didn't close the d-door." Saphira interrupted sharply.

Keiran didn't even have enough time to plaster himself against the wall before Astarte was in the doorway, looking down the hall as if she had heard someone. Credit to her, she didn't scream, or even jump when she saw Keiran loitering guiltily outside their bedroom door. Instead she narrowed her eyes.

"Star?" Saphira said curiously.

"Sorry, bathroom. I'll be back in a minute." Astarte said, smiling over her shoulder at Saphira before shoving her way past Keiran and gesturing that he should follow.

She did in fact lead him to the girls' bathroom, but not inside. Just outside the door she swung around to face him, her face hard.

"I'm sorry..." he muttered. "I didn't mean to-"

"That's what they all say." Astarte snapped.

Keiran bowed his head.

"I don't care what you heard, but if you break up with her Keiran le Lievre, because she's scared to sleep with you, I will personally see to it that you never have sex with another woman, or man for that matter, again." She said this in a dangerously low voice that left no doubt in her ability to hold true this promise.

"I have no intention of breaking up with her, with or without your threat." Keiran replied, his voice even lower. He didn't mind her threatening him – what he _did _mind was that she doubted his love for Saphira, especially after she had just defended him. Stiffly, he held out the sword with both hands. "This belongs to Saphira; can you give it back to her for me please?"

Astarte took it just as stiffly. "Sure."

"Thank you." Keiran turned around. "Good night."

"And to you."

They stood with their backs to each other for a minute, saying nothing, and then as one, marched off to their rooms.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The following morning brought rain and extremely high humidity, neither of which made Keiran feel any better about himself. He had had a very poor sleep, and suspected he wouldn't have slept at all if it hadn't been for the fact that his day at the beach had left him totally exhausted. As a result he had slept in, and so had missed breakfast, which also did little to cheer him. Sulking, he did his morning exercises with only a portion of his usual enthusiasm and didn't even pause to check his abs in the mirror before heading out to find everyone.

Most frustratingly, it was Blank he encountered first, in the common room where he was alone, poking through the book shelf.

"Morning." Keiran droned.

"Shit man, you look like, well, _shit." _Blank replied, abandoning his search to scrutinise Keiran more closely.

"Thanks."

"Fuck, didn't you sleep with Saph again last night?"

"Why does everybody know...?" he wondered out loud, a little peevishly, heading for the door again.

Blank followed him. "So why the hell d'you look like the rear end of a zombie?"

"It's none of your business."

"Ooh, I get it. She fuckin' rejected you, didn't she?" he leered.

"Shut up."

"So she did?"

"Get out of it, Blank."

"What, did you fuckin' try rape her or something?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Keiran yelled, puffing himself up as he turned on him. Blank caught his fist just before it connected with his face – he hadn't even moved more than that one arm and raised an eyebrow – he was simply too fast and too tall to be intimidated like that.

Keiran wilted and made for the door again, wrenching his fist from Blank's grip, but the blonde boy got there first and stood in front of it, blocking his exit.

"Move." he tried.

"No."

"Blank, get your arse out of my way!"

"No." Blank's expression was very unpleasant, and there was a muscle twitching beside his eye.

Keiran glowered at him.

"Tell me what's fucking wrong with you and I might let you go."

"It's none of your business!"

"You made it my business when you tried hitting me." Blank hissed.

"I try hitting you several times a day on average." Keiran replied dryly.

"That's different. DON'T turn your back on me!"

Keiran paused and half turned back. "Why not?"

His scarlet eyes narrowed to slits, Blank said, "because I'm talkin' to you, and it's rude to turn your back on someone who's fuckin' talkin' to you."

"Whatever." Keiran shrugged and faced him again. Not because it was rude not to, after all it was Blank the king of swearing that had said that, but because Blank was radiating a punch-me-again-I-dare-you aura. Keiran's experience with people with this aura usually ended with someone unconscious on the floor with a bloody nose. He didn't doubt Blank's strength even for a second – lanky he may be, but he had single-handedly restrained Keiran when he had tried to kill Chris, and apparently without any effort...

They glared at each other for a moment, then Keiran sighed and backed down, literally; he perched on the edge of the couch that was directly behind him and stuck his head in his hands. "Sorry... I'm just really tired, and after last night... I just don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Tell me about it." Blank suggested, more quietly.

"I've already dumped too much of my crap on-"

"I'm asking you to tell me about it."

"God, you're annoying." Keiran sighed.

"You shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain."

"Why not? You do."

"Never mind me." Blank said dismissively. "So, what happened?"

Keiran sighed again, "what are you, my bloody therapist?"

Blank shrugged carelessly.

"I came onto her; she stopped me, the end."

"Ri-ight." Blank raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want? A fucking blow-by-blow account?" Keiran stopped and took a couple of deep breaths to sooth his anger. "Sorry."

"That's alright."

"... She's scared I'll hurt her. That's why she doesn't want to sleep with me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Not a hell of a lot you can do about that then, is there?"

"No."

"Just got to wait 'til she's ready."

"Yeah..." Keiran raked his hair back from his face and sighed.

Another few minutes passed them by in silence, each of them thinking.

"Hey, random question," Blank said, "do you masturbate?"

"_What?_" Keiran spluttered. "No!"

Blank looked at him intensely for a moment as Keiran fidgeted a bit. "... You seriously don't, do you?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Why?"

"Because-! Because I don't!"

"Well fuck me." Blank said, looking most amused. "No wonder you're so horny all the bloody time."

"What difference does it make?" Keiran cried, somewhat distressed.

"All the difference in the world, mate, all the fucking difference in the world." Blank patted him kindly on the shoulder. "Just imagine – being able to lie beside Saphira and hug her with no dirty feelings attached, having blown your load some time earlier."

Keiran felt ill.

"How d'you think I managed to get as far as the DB event sleeping in the same room as Match without raping him?"

Keiran felt even more ill.

Blank leered at him. "Fuck, just give it a try; you won't regret it."

"No." Keiran muttered weakly.

"I don't see what the big deal is. You've had sex with another guy, haven't ya?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Just do to yourself what you'd do for him-"

"No! Just _no."_

"Suit yourself then." Blank raised his eyebrows and got to his feet and started pacing. "So, if you won't have a quick wank in the shower before bed, what will you do?"

Keiran shrugged.

"The way I see it, you only have four choices" he said decisively after a moment, and counted them off his long, thin fingers. "One: You somehow find it in you to deal without sex until she's ready – I'd still recommended having a good wank every so often. Two: You forget about her feelings, and any trust she may have in your sorry ass and just go for it - rape her."

"NO!" Keiran yelled, on his feet.

"Sit down, shut the fuck up and let me finish." Blank glared at him until smouldering, he did so. "Three: Cheat on her, go out to town one night, find some sexy bitch and have your fun - she'd never know."

"You're fucked in the head! How can you even suggest-"

"Or four: Break up with her." He let his hand fall and turned to face Keiran.

"You're disgusting." Keiran hissed.

"I admit; your average person could have phrased that more, er what's the word? Eloquently, but coming from me, what do you fuckin' expect?" He shrugged, flicking his ponytail back over his shoulder.

"I never asked for your help."

"Not with your mouth you didn't, but actions speak louder than words, or so they say." Blank looked momentarily disgusted at himself for using such a cliché phrase.

"... Have you been reading?"

He scowled. "Yeah, Match said I should try to 'broaden my vocabulary' or some shit."

"Yeah, I'd stop if I were you."

"Why, don't the big words suit me?"

"No." Keiran sighed, standing up. "Anyway, your vocabulary is broad enough as it is."

Blank watched him cross to the door thoughtfully, and just as Keiran put his hand on the handle; "what I offered Arthur's open to you too, ya know."

Keiran stared at him in disbelief, did he mean what Keiran thought he meant? "_What?"_

"You know, threesome?" Blank shrugged.

_Is he joking? Is he _sane? "No! With you and- No!" He shook his head forcefully, as if this would help get the message across.

Blank raised an eyebrow.

"I mean! There's nothing wrong with you guys, and you're both- I mean! Just no. It's still cheating!"

"Alright, sheesh." Blank grinned at Keiran's flustered expression. "No need to get your knickers inna frickin' twist. I was just saying-"

"No!" Keiran spun on his heel and darted out the door before anything else embarrassing could happen.

Why had he reacted like that? Was it because he had actually been slightly tempted by the idea..? But with two other guys? And friends at that. Keiran shuddered, raking his hair back as he wandered down the hallway. Was he really that desperate?

_So when Blank invited Arthur to sleep with them was he serious then..? Was he serious this time? _

_... He has problems. _Keiran decided. I _have problems. One problem, in particular._

_Saph..._

He looked to the Heavens for help, and subsequently walked into someone as he turned the corner onto the stairs. Keiran bounced off their armour and hit the wall.

"Watch where you're going!" the someone said, sounding very ticked off.

"Sorry." Keiran muttered, picking himself up and rubbing his chest. _That's gonna bruise_...

"Oh it's you."

Keiran looked at the person for the first time, and his gut wrenched unpleasantly as he took in the boy's cap and sunglasses and mane of blonde hair. It was Ilyn, and she didn't look happy to see him. At all.

He grinned weakly.

"Would you like to explain to me why my sister is walking around looking like she's been diagnosed with something extremely fatal while you are up here, _smiling_?" she glared at him over her sunnies.

"I." Keiran said, then, still grinning madly, sidestepped her and bolted down the stairs. Luckily she didn't chase him, but he could tell there would be hell to pay later...

At the base of the staircase he slowed to a walk and then sagged against the wall. Why had he run away from her? Because it was easier than explaining, or because he didn't want to get beaten up, or end up as dinner for Ilyn's crazy pecopeco? Either way, it was too late now; Ilyn was going to prise the story out of someone and it wasn't going to end well for him.

_I suppose I should find Saph..._ he thought, glancing down the hall. Or would it be safer to avoid her? He wanted to see her, to make everything better, somehow. But could he trust himself? And what could he say?

"Urgh." he said.

"Oh, you're up finally." said Darius, pausing his stroll down the corridor to look at Keiran questioningly.

"Yeah" Keiran stood upright and shook himself mentally, "hey, have you seen Saph?"

Darius' steady smile slipped, "She and Astarte left the castle a couple of hours ago, I don't know where they've gone but they said they wouldn't be back until dinner."

Keiran gaped at him. He felt somehow betrayed. Why would she go off without even waiting for him to get up? Was she upset with him? So upset that she didn't want to see him?

"I should add that Saphira wanted to wait for you to get up first, but Astarte seemed particularly keen to leave as soon as possible." Darius said, possibly sensing Keiran's looming depression.

"... She wasn't running away from me then?" he asked, feeling slightly more cheerful.

"What? No." Darius laughed lightly. "I think Astarte wanted to get out before the rain started, actually."

"Oh." Keiran fell into place beside him as he continued down towards the kitchens. "I wonder where they went..."

Darius hmm'd thoughtfully but said nothing, even as Keiran went about making himself some toast, instead he sat on a stool with his legs crossed and his book, as usual, open on his knee.

"What are we gonna do today then?" Keiran queried, tossing his butter knife into the sink for some poor soul to wash later. He had had big plans of how to spend the day, but they had depended on Saphira not running off with Astarte, and on it not raining...

"_We?_" Darius spared him a glance over the rim of his glasses.

"We."

"Well, _I_ was going to catch up on my study-" he started.

"No. No and no." Keiran interrupted, shaking his head and waving a piece of toast in his friend's face, "It's a _holiday, _Darius, which means no work, and no study. We have to make the most of this!"

He opened his mouth as if to protest, then closed it again and shrugged, looking back at his book. "What did you have in mind then, oh great leader?" He glanced up again. "I take it you have an idea? It's very rare that you ask my opinion because you're interested in it."

Keiran quirked an eyebrow and made for the door. "Of course I have a plan. Are you coming or what?"

With a sigh Darius tucked his book under one arm and pocketed his glasses, following Keiran out of the kitchen and outside, where they both stood in the shelter of the terrace above and watched the rain fall, Keiran munching on his toast pensively.

"It's raining." he said eventually.

"Yes, it is." Darius agreed.

"It's raining hard."

"Yes."

They watched the rain for a while longer, listening to it in the trees and pouring down the stone walls.

"Well that blows." Keiran said, finishing off the last crust of his toast. "We'll get wet."

Darius looked at him like he'd gone mad. "You can't go out in this!"

"Why? It's just a bit of rain." Keiran stepped out of the shelter and was instantly drenched through. He looked down at his dripping uniform, his hair plastered to his face. "Okay, a lot of rain. But I'm wet now so I'm going anyway!"

"You'll get sick!" Darius said anxiously. "At least take an umbrella."

"Umbrellas are for people who straighten their hair" he retorted.

"What?" Darius blinked in confusion, then frowned. "Never mind that, where are you even going?"

"Town."

"Why?" he sounded despairing, as if it was totally suicidal to go into town while it was raining.

"I want to spend money. I thought I'd buy myself a shield." Where this idea came from he didn't know – it hadn't been there a second ago. He blamed it on the rain, which was trickling down his back... "Are you coming?" he half-yelled over the all the noise.

"Not if it's raining this hard." Darius cast a dark glance at the sky, still standing under the shelter.

"What, do you straighten your hair or something?" Keiran asked, trying to work out if he was cold. He didn't think he was, and the air was disgustingly warm, but for some reason he wanted to shiver. "If so you missed a bit. Lots of bits in fact..."

"What does that have to do with anything!"

"We-ell, if you straighten it, and it gets wet, it'll curl-"

"No! Don't be ridiculous." he glowered at Keiran, standing in the courtyard soaked to his skin. "If you get sick I won't be looking after you again!"

"I didn't ask you to." Keiran replied breezily. "So I take it you're not coming?"

Darius glared at him.

Keiran looked woefully back, and pouted. "That's a shame, I was really looking forward to spending some time with you..." he trailed off sadly.

"Be quiet, you see me everyday." Darius said, but his expression wasn't quite so hard. He looked to the sky again, and sighed. "Okay I'll come. Just give me a minute to get a jacket."

"Yay!" Keiran exclaimed, patting his pockets "um, could you get my money too?"

Darius rolled his eyes. "I guess."

"There's a good man. Bedside table, top drawer." Keiran grinned at the thought of Darius' expression when he opened that drawer and saw the other contents – it was a shame he couldn't be there to see it.

"Get out of the rain already." Darius sighed and headed back inside.

And while he was getting his stuff together, Keiran took the opportunity to visit the laundry through the outside door and get some of his clean, dry clothes, which someone had been kind enough to take of the line before the rain started. He changed thankfully, dumped his soaked clothes in a basin and towelled his hair briefly, then followed the trail of water he had left when he had entered back to the castle doors. Darius arrived moments later, his arms full of jackets and a pair of umbrellas, Keiran's money bag perched precariously on top.

He handed Keiran his money, a green umbrella and a jacket that, despite belonging to him, he didn't wear very often because it was black and long, and made him look rather evil, or so he thought. He put it on anyway, not mentioning this to Darius, who looked thrilled that Keiran had been smart enough to change, and unfurled the umbrella with a scowl.

And they stepped out into the rain. Darius looked apprehensive as the water cascaded off the front off his umbrella and tugged his jacket closed. Keiran on the other hand, was humming quite contentedly now that he was dry and Darius was coming with him to town, which was always fun, no matter what the weather.

"I thought it was supposed to be summer." Darius said flatly, clearly not impressed.

"It can't be sunny all the time or all the plants would dry out." Keiran informed him wisely. "Don't worry - it'll probably be stinking hot again in a couple of hours."

True to his word, by the time the pair had reached the market place and actually found where the armour and weapon merchants were huddled under beach umbrellas or other flimsy shelters, catering to the needs of those crazy people who were out braving the weather, the rain had faded to a weak drizzle and the sun would appear from behind the clouds every so often to remind everyone that it was in fact summer.

Darius seemed a lot happier with everything after that and joined Keiran in questioning the various vendors about this shield and that sword until, after looking at what seemed like a hundred stalls, Keiran finally found one that he liked – a rather large one of the normal shield shape, but with a strange coating on the outside which the blacksmith explained could reflect magic. A mirror shield, she said, holding it up so it caught the brief sunlight. Keiran stared at it, and stared at her, and then at Darius, who muttered something about a coffee and wandered off.

"Er." Keiran said, turning to the blacksmith and spurting quickly; "can you hold onto that for me for like half an hour?"

The vendor pulled a face but eventually agreed, and Keiran tore after Darius, his coat flapping around his knees.

He found his friend in the coffee shop they usually visited when they were in town; just ordering his whatever it was blah blah latte with just a bit of milk.

"You woman" Keiran commented, sliding into the booth beside him, and then fixed the pretty waitress with a wide smile.

She blushed. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll have a hot chocolate, with extra marshmallows, aaaand a white chocolate and raspberry muffin if you would be so kind." he said, and she flounced off.

"Where's your shield?" Darius asked as Keiran stretched out his legs and invaded Darius' personal space.

"I asked her to hold it for me – it didn't want to be dragging it around, really."

"Fair enough."

Keiran pulled his money bag out of his jacket pocket and rattled it hopefully. "Now, let's see if I actually have 800k..." He poured the contents out on the table, flailing after a few coins that tried to roll away, and then set to counting.

"You mean to say that you told her you would buy it when you don't even know if you can afford it?" Darius asked incredulously. "You do realise that there are merchants out there that would skin you alive for that?"

"It's okay..." Keiran said vaguely, his concentration on the neat piles of coins that now decorated the table. "No wait, wait, maybe it's not- Oh, actually never mind." he fished an escaped coin out from under the menu and added it to one of the piles. "800k exactly!" he announced happily.

"That will be 530 zeny." the waitress said, placing Keiran's hot chocolate and muffin down amongst the coins. His smile froze.

With a huge sigh, Darius gave the waitress enough zeny to cover both of their orders and a tip, and with a generous smile at him, she swished away again.

"Thank you..." Keiran said, slurping at his hot chocolate sheepishly.

"I'm sure I owe you for something anyway." Darius said, stirring his coffee.

Keiran didn't think he did, but wasn't going to complain. "Want to share my muffin?"

"No thank you."

"Kay."

They sat in silence for a while as they drank their drinks, enjoying being out of the wet.

"What d'you think Saph and Star are up to?" Keiran asked, pulling a large chunk off the top of his muffin. He was missing his girlfriend, and found that he wanted to go and apologise to her... But they wouldn't be back until dinner. So long...

"I couldn't say." Darius said, glancing out the window at the weather; it was clearing up even more now.

"I hope she took a jacket with her..." he said softly, gazing at his muffin but not seeing it. "I'd hate for her to get sick..."

Darius decided not to point out that Keiran had been about to go into town in just his uniform not that much earlier.

"Wow, that must be one tasty muffin," said someone.

The boys both swung their heads around to stare.

Keiran thought for only a minute before exclaiming, "Eilk!"

The rogue girl grinned. "...Keiran, right? And Darius?"

They nodded and as one shuffled over to make room for her. She took one look at the piles of coins on Keiran's side of the table and slid in beside Darius; Keiran felt only a little put out.

"Can I get you anything?" Darius offered.

"Oh, no I already ate. Thanks." Eilk said lightly, tucking a lock of her maroon hair behind her ear. "I was just passing by and I thought I recognised you guys, so I figured I'd come say hi."

Keiran grinned at her, now stuffing his money back into its bag. "How's life been?"

She looked thoughtful, "it's been alright. How about you guys?"

"Great!" Keiran said, but he knew from the way she was now looking at him that something of his unease had shown on his face. He quickly turned back to his muffin and Darius engaged her in a discussion about something he had read about rogues and them supposedly being able to remove a Paladin's armour so fast and skilfully that the victim didn't notice until the rogue was well out of harm's reach. Keiran sniggered, thinking inappropriate thoughts as usual, and Eilk corrected Darius, saying it was Stalkers that learnt how to do that: full strip, Keiran sniggered again, and with a grin at him, she went on to explain it.

About the same time Keiran had picked the last crumb off his muffin paper, Darius stood up; Eilk moved to let him pass.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave you now, I was supposed to visit a book store on the other side of town which closes in 20 minutes." He ran a hand through his humidity dampened hair sheepishly, which made it stick up, and looked at Eilk. "My apologies. It's been nice seeing you again, Eilk."

"And you." she said, sounding a bit baffled as she slid back into the booth.

Darius smiled, and then he was gone.

"..." Keiran stared after him, his mug half way to his mouth, and then set it down and looked at Eilk, who looked back. "Well, that was different."

"He doesn't usually do that then?" Eilk asked.

"No, usually he would just let the store close rather than walk out on coffee." Keiran itched his chin. "Must be a damn good book he's after..."

He could feel Eilk's eyes on him, and he let her stare while he poked around in the dregs of his drink, but found himself feeling increasing more uncomfortable sitting alone with her at this table... _Why_? he wondered, and lifted his eyes to meet hers – they were a rich brown. He smiled, and she grinned back, a strange but all too familiar look in those eyes.

He cleared his throat and got to his feet. "I, er, have to go collect a shield from the marketplace."

"Oh," Eilk said and also stood.

"You're welcome to come if you want." Keiran said impulsively.

She looked happier at the idea and preceded Keiran out of the cafe as he held the door open for her, swishing her hips.

As they walked Keiran fished around for something to talk about, but she beat him to it.

"When do you get to become a Crusader?" she asked, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye.

"We had our exams the other day and we get the results tomorrow." Keiran said, avoiding her gaze. "I don't think I've advanced though."

Eilk pulled a sympathetic face. "You might have."

"I was unconscious for most of the third part."

"Oh."

"It doesn't matter much." Keiran said with a grin. "Kuro said he didn't expect anyone to get advancing grades this time."

"Kuro?"

"Sir Kuronosu. Err, he's second in command of our guild." Keiran shot her a glance. Yes, she was checking him out... Oh dear. And that look... Oh dear. Not good.

"Oh, him." Eilk said, stretching her arms over her head, then started walking backwards in front of him, somehow avoiding the biggest of the puddles. "What's up?"

"Huh?"

"You look kinda worried about something." she tilted her head sideways.

"Oh, um." Keiran thought fast. "My girlfriend went out before it started raining and I don't know if she took a jacket." _There, that kills two birds with one stone; now she knows I'm not single too. _And it was true, just not what he was really worried about _at the moment_.

Eilk looked thoughtful. "I'm sure she'll be fine. It's kinda sunny now after all."

Keiran chewed his lip and looked away from her.

"So, what's she like?" Eilk asked.

"Saph?"

"Is that her name?"

"Yeah, Saphira."

"Pretty." Eilk said uninterestedly.

"She's great. Really. I couldn't ask for more." Keiran said, smiling softly.

"But?" Eilk prompted.

Keiran got the feeling this girl was a lot sharper than he had originally made her out to be, possibly sharper than anyone he knew, and he sighed. "I don't really want to tell you about it."

Eilk stopped dead in her tracks; but Keiran kept walking, straight into her. She recovered easily, and he looked down at her, right against his chest, just as she grabbed his crotch, quite gently. Keiran stiffened, and she smiled knowingly up at him.

"You don't need to tell me" she said quietly, moving her fingers slightly. "I have all the information right here."

He groaned, almost silently. Somewhere in his head something was telling him that this was sexual assault, but that tiny voice was drowned out by his sudden roaring lust for this gorgeous girl, screaming at him to take her right now while he still could.

"Does she want to take your relationship slow?" she asked. "You don't, do you? I can tell."

"Please let go." Keiran whispered, trying to keep his voice steady and his self control intact.

She did so, and he pushed past her and walked swiftly towards the market, swallowing with difficulty. She was right behind him, easily keeping up with his strides.

"I can help you, you know." she said in the same low, seductive tone. "I _want_ to help you."

Keiran didn't look at her; it was hard enough to keep control of himself as it was. Her offer was tempting, so very tempting... But he couldn't, that would be wrong. It just wasn't worth it. ...Or was it?

"Your girlfriend wouldn't find out." she continued, and slipped her hand under his jacket and into the back pocket of his pants. Keiran bit his lip, gnawing at it with his eyes half closed, trying, and failing to think about something unrelated to sex. He could just yell for a guard, there were plenty around. He wouldn't even have to admit to them what her real intentions were – she was a rogue, after all – he could just say she was trying to take his money. She would be caught or run away and he would be safe from this crazy torture, but no. He wanted it just as bad as she seemed to, and it prevented him even pushing her away.

"I won't tell if you won't." she breathed, right by his ear.

His self control shattered, and with a quick glance around to check for witnesses, he seized her around the shoulders and dragged her into the nearest alleyway, backing her against the wall. _Saphira... I'm so sorry..._ He just couldn't take this anymore, he had to _do something_. She wouldn't find out. She couldn't.

Keiran hovered, suddenly uncertain again, with his face only an inch from hers as he pulled her hips against his.

Her eyes were on his lips, so close to her own; his, closed tightly as he fought this mental war within himself. He was breathing heavily, and so was she, her breath warm on his chin. He inhaled her scent and nearly lost it completely, his hands tightening and swaying forwards so that their lips brushed softly. She smelled good... _really good. _Not like floral shampoo like Saphira did, but of her own, personal female scent with just a touch of something like curry, and a little damp. It made his mouth water. He shuddered with barely controlled desire and ran a hand up the inside of her fur-trimmed jacket. She was seriously flat-chested, but she didn't stop him touching her, and he moaned softly with pleasure at this simple feat.

Surprisingly, she did nothing more than watch his lips, her hands lightly on his chest, as if she was waiting for him to make the first move. Still, he found he couldn't kiss her. Her breath on his face was torture, but he couldn't kiss her, as much as he wanted to.

_Saphira..._

He was regaining control, somehow. He swallowed, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. Yes, she really wanted him, and she would see in his eyes how much he wanted her. He swayed again, and their lips touched for a split second more before Keiran swung himself up and turned away.

"I- I can't." he muttered. Now he felt doubly guilty – he had nearly cheated on Saphira, and he had turned down this rogue... But he knew that it was the right choice. He _couldn't_ sleep with someone else. He couldn't. It wasn't right, in any way. If other couples could wait until they were _married _before they had sex, then he could find a way to do it too. He didn't _need _sex. He didn't.

He breathed deeply a few times, trying to calm down. He was disgusted with himself. Behind him he heard Eilk stand up and reorganise her clothes. He didn't dare look at her. Was she angry with him?

"Hm." she said, and patted him on the back. "Good for you." She passed him and headed towards town, a slight smile on her face. "I guess I'll see you around then. If you ever ditch your girl, I'm happy to pick up where we left off." With a wave over her shoulder, she vanished into thin air.

Keiran sagged onto a crate and put his head in his hands.


	21. Part 21: Help

Yay serious stuff. ._. Next chapter will be stupid again, I promise.

Since this is a short (and annoying) chapter I got the idea to write an explanation of where this story came from and the like. I typed it all out, then deleted it, coz I don't think you care, lol.

And I just remembered I promised you chibis… They're drawn, just not coloured.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Love you guys very much. Sorry if I don't reply to all your comments DD: I can never remember if I have or not, but I try.

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

It was with a heavy mind that Keiran collected his new shield from the impatient blacksmith (he realised as he handed his 800k over that he was lucky to still have any money at all after rejecting a rogue's advances) and made his way back to the castle. Unprepared to face anyone just yet, he entered through a side door into the laundry and made to sneak up to his room when he had a sudden compelling urge to visit the chapel.

It was empty, and peaceful; the sound of the birds outside just audible through the stained glass windows. Slowly he walked up the aisle and lay his shield down on one of the wooden pews near the front and turned to face the cross above the altar, suddenly nervous.

_I suppose I should do this properly_... Keiran thought, and knelt before the altar, bowing his head and resting it on his folded hands. Somewhere in the castle a group was practising their singing; their gentle voices only added to the strange sense of peace he was feeling.

And he prayed. He prayed silently, but long and hard, asking for forgiveness and the strength to resist further temptation. He prayed that Saphira too could forgive him, and that somehow they could work things out.

After getting all of the heavy things off his chest he prayed for his friends and family, that they'd be safe and happy, and for other less pressing things that presented each other to him one after another.

It was a long time before he muttered an amen and raised his head to gaze at the crucifix and the figure nailed to it. It had been a while since he had prayed so strongly... It felt kind of good. But not as fulfilling as he had thought it might be. But it wasn't God he really wanted forgiveness from, was it? It was Saphira. But how could he achieve forgiveness unless he told her what he had done? He couldn't tell her. Surely she would hate him for it... Surely.

Could he tell anyone? No, maybe it was safer not to. It could stay a secret between him and Eilk. His heart sunk with a horrid thought, would _Eilk_ tell her? No, that was stupid. Eilk didn't know Saph, and why would she anyway?

He dragged himself to his feet reluctantly and turned around. And did a double-take.

Kuronosu was seated in the front row, his hands resting lightly on his armoured knees as he gazed at the window.

"Good afternoon, Sir." Keiran said politely, recovering from his initial surprise. How long had he been sitting there? Had he been there the whole time, or just recently come in?

"Good afternoon, Keiran." Kuronosu said lightly, fixing his bright eyes on the swordsman, watching him. "If you don't mind me saying so, you look troubled."

"I... have a lot on my mind, Sir." Keiran muttered.

Kuronosu smiled kindly. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here."

Keiran paused as he made to pick up his shield. Why would the second most powerful man in the guild want to hear about the comparatively mundane problems of a lowly swordsman? Why was he always so open to them? When he had so many problems of his own? Maybe... Maybe hearing about these little issues was refreshing after dealing with guild problems and murders and other serious things.

But there was something about the Paladin, in the way he sat, the way he looked at you with those gentle brown eyes... It was like he really did want to help in any way he possibly could. It reminded Keiran of Darius. They both shared the same comforting, peaceful feeling that made you want to stay near them... Made you want to spill out all of your problems, just to hear them say a comforting word or two.

Keiran sat down on the bench, some distance from his teacher, and looked sideways at him. What could he say? Could he really tell this man everything? No, probably not.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't wish to" Kuronosu said, and sighed softly. "However, I do find that telling someone can lighten the burden... Just as I find that coming here" he gestured around the chapel, "can relieve stress and leave you with a clearer head." He smiled at Keiran.

He kept his gaze on the altar, thinking for a moment, and then said, "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

Kuronosu inclined his head. "You may."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

A look of understanding appeared on his handsome face, just as it always did on Darius'. "Yes, I do."

This didn't surprise Keiran. The Paladin might have been single at the start of the year, but he was far too popular to stay that way for long.

"Is she... a crusader?" he asked.

"No." Kuronosu said, seeming very slightly surprised that Keiran was asking him these things. "No, she's a High Priest."

"Do you see her often?"

"Keiran," he started, then paused and looked at his student, taking in his rather vacant stare and the way he slumped in his seat. "No. I usually only see her once a week, at church."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes. Very much."

_Do you ever find yourself wanting someone else? _Keiran wanted to ask, but he knew that he had asked too much, too many personal questions, and stopped himself, staring at the far wall.

Kuronosu watched him carefully for a moment. "Keiran... Whatever it is that's on your mind, just try talking to her about it. And if it's not something you can tell her, tell someone else that you trust." he tilted his head to see Keiran's face through his fringe. "And you can _always _tell God, if you haven't already. He won't be burdened by what you have to say, and He listens and won't judge you. He might not give you a direct answer as your friends might, but He will give you one in some way." The Paladin got laboriously to his feet and squeezed Keiran's shoulder gently, smiling. "Have faith."

With his face this close, Keiran could see the fine wrinkles between his brows and across his forehead, now deeper than the smile lines beside his heavily shadowed eyes – he was exhausted. He, unlike the rest of the guild, didn't get time off. He was expected to keep working, when it was he who needed the break more than anyone.

Keiran wondered what he was really thinking, what was bothering him most at the moment. Was he looking forward to seeing his girlfriend tomorrow? Was he nervous about announcing the exam results? It didn't show in his eyes, where there was only understanding and kindness as he looked into Keiran's.

Somehow, Keiran felt a lot closer to his teacher, not just physically, but emotionally, as if he had crossed the wall that divided them as teacher and student and made them instead comrades, despite the difference in age and rank... He doubted Kuronosu felt the same way.

The Paladin gripped his shoulder once more and stood upright, as if to leave.

Keiran started, suddenly wanting to tell him everything. He opened his mouth to tell him to wait, and closed it a moment later, embarrassed. He couldn't tell his teacher that he really needed sex- that was just so very wrong. And what if he got the wrong idea?

Kuronosu meanwhile had picked up Keiran's mirror shield and was checking it over closely, running his fingers up the rather sharp edges and hoisting it to test the weight. He looked from it to Keiran. "Did you buy this?"

"Yes, Sir." Keiran said, slightly guiltily. Was he going to get in trouble for it? Were they maybe not allowed to buy their own gear? Wait, that was a stupid thought.

"It's a good shield for you." Kuronosu said, laying it back on the bench. "I must ask that you don't use it in practice duels though... I think everyone would like to keep their jaw attached to their face, and with an edge like that..." he let the thought hang.

"Yes Sir."

"Well then. I think I've spent quite enough time hiding from my duties, I should probably tackle that pile of paperwork I've been putting off for the last month..." Kuronosu frowned at the roof, and then shot a smile at Keiran again. "Roast chicken for dinner tonight, don't be late."

Keiran blinked. That was a rather random thing to say out of the blue. "Yes Sir." He flailed internally, feeling like he should say something more. "Um, thank you."

The Paladin looked surprised. "Thank me? What for?"

"For... everything." Keiran muttered, trying not to trip over his next words. "I think you're a really great teacher... I've learnt so much from you."

Kuronosu's surprise disappeared and his eyes crinkled as he smiled a deep smile that didn't quite disguise how much Keiran's simple words meant to him.

"And..." Keiran added in a quiet voice, "thank you for trying to help me."

"It's what I'm here for." Kuronosu replied, his voice very soft. "It's part of my job to make sure everyone's happy." He frowned suddenly and stared at the far wall. "What is that awful racket?"

Indeed, there was a very strange noise emitting from the wall at the back of the chapel - like a high pitched wailing.

Kuronosu rubbed his temples and sighed. "I think someone is trying to reach a pitch they can't actually sing. I think I should go stop them before they break something... Excuse me."

Keiran watched him until the Paladin and his swirling cape were completely out of sight and then got up and collected his shield. He wasn't sure what interrogating Kuronosu had achieved, but he felt better for it, somehow. Or maybe it was just because Kuro had been so kind, even though he didn't know what the real problem was. As he headed upstairs, he wondered what Kuronosu would think of him if he _did _know the problem. It was hard to imagine. Maybe he would be disapproving, but offer support anyway..? Keiran didn't know.

He made it up to his room without meeting anyone and after making sure his shield was positioned stably against the wall, collapsed onto bed. It was only like 3pm; he had heaps of time until dinner, until he had to face Saphira, but this was no comfort. He wanted more than ever to see her.

He passed the next couple of hours sprawled on his bed flicking through a weaponry catalogue, comparing and contrasting various swords. It was boring, but it kept him busy. Occasionally he would stop and stare at the door, thinking he should go find someone, but he still didn't feel like dealing with people, a very unusual thing for him. He wondered where Darius had gone, but as his jacket was over their chair, he must have got home safely... He was probably helping with dinner or something.

At 5pm Keiran tossed the magazine onto a pile of novels in the corner and heaved himself up to go for a shower – his hair was feeling decidedly greasy after its soaking earlier. As he approached the bathroom door, he heard a very familiar voice drifting up the stairs. Saphira. Keiran's heart raced, and before he could think about it, he had darted inside the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

Outside, Saphira's voice got louder as she approached, and then Astarte said something, and they both laughed until their voices had faded completely.

Keiran breathed out slowly. She was happy. That was good. Maybe they could just keep going as if nothing had happened. Well, maybe _she _could, but...

His thoughts turned to Eilk as he undressed and stepped into the shower.

Why had she done that..? Why had she been so... provocative? She hadn't seemed that... for lack of a better word, slutty, last time they had met at the dead branch event. She had seemed perfectly normal then. In fact, Keiran remembered thinking she didn't seem at all like a stereotypical rogue. But today... he chewed his lip as his insides burned with rekindled desire for the rogue as he recalled everything.

Why did she make him feel this way? He was in love with Saphira, and since he had realised that, he hadn't been interested in any other girl – he had only wanted her. But Eilk... she had wound him up so easily and he hardly knew her! Or was it because he didn't know her that she had that effect on him? Frustrated, he rubbed the shampoo into his hair with extra force. Did he feel that because she was practically a stranger that it would be okay to screw her? He frowned at his logic. He hadn't though. He had only touched her. But that was bad enough in itself...

He let the shower rinse the shampoo out without his help, his palms against the shower wall and his head hanging as the water and soap cascaded around him.

What would have happened if he _had_ had sex with her? What would have happened if Eilk hadn't just stood there? What if she had kissed him? He wouldn't have been able to stop himself... But why had she not acted? She had waited for him. _Why_?

Then he imagined himself kissing her, her arms around his neck as he pressed into her; her breathing harsh against him-

He swallowed, trying to ignore the throbbing below, his breath coming quickly. He couldn't think like this. He _couldn't. _Eilk was no one. A stranger. She wasn't important. If he was going to think like this about anyone, it should be Saphira.

_But she doesn't want to sleep with me._

And even if she did it wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be able to let himself go with her. He would have to be careful, slow. Yesterday this hadn't seemed like a problem, but today... Eilk... she had seemed like she knew what she was doing. She had deliberately gone out of her way to wind him up, making him want her so bad he was bound to be rough.

"Urrgh." he managed. He was shaking. Shaking with shame and disgust and guilt and desire.

He couldn't go on like this. What if he started lusting after every girl he saw? Every _guy_ even? It wasn't right. He felt so sick with himself. He was doubting his love for Saphira, and it hurt. Like his heart was being torn from him. His fists clenched against the wall. He couldn't lose her for this reason! He had to keep control of himself, keep his lust in check! For her sake.

_'Just give it a try, you won't regret it.' _Blank's words came back to him suddenly, and Keiran stared at the wall between his shaking fists with wide eyes.

Was it really that simple..? Would it help him keep Saph..?

Drawing a shaky breath, Keiran made his decision.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As no one knew that he had been going for a shower nobody asked why he had taken significantly longer than usual when he came down for dinner. It was probably a good thing too – Keiran didn't think he could handle Blank's knowing sneer if he found out Keiran had actually taken his advice.

And he _did _feel better now, a lot less tense and more like himself as he slipped into his seat between Darius and Saphira, his mouth watering as the delicious smell of roast chicken wafted over to him.

He pushed thoughts of food aside for a moment and considered his girlfriend. She had looked up when he had sat down, but other than that she had done nothing... But she didn't seem to be upset at all. Usually he would peck her on the cheek, but... Maybe he should just give her a hug, or even just say hi..?

Her hand was on the bench between them, Keiran noticed. He glanced at the side of her face and gently ran his hand over hers; in response she twisted it around and threaded her fingers between his. Keiran heart soared – she didn't hate him! She still cared! He told himself he was being stupid – she had no reason to hate him – she didn't know what he had done, but it had no effect. He swelled with love for her. He could make this work- he _would _make it work.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear as he shuffled closer.

She nuzzled against him gently. "I love you too."

Keiran smiled into her hair, everything seemed so fine now.

And then Kuronosu got to his feet to remind them about church and the fancy dinner tomorrow, and to lead them through grace.

Darius caught Keiran's eye and, with a meaningful glance at Saphira, he smiled. Keiran smiled widely back.

"Did you get your book?"

"Of course." Darius held it up for him to see. This one had a forest drawn on the front with a beautiful lady riding a white horse through it. It looked about the same as every other book Darius showed him. "I saw you got your shield. How was Eilk?"

"Fine." Keiran said, trying to sound casual. "She had to leave a little after you did, so we didn't talk much more."

Saphira looked at him questioningly.

"Eilk's a rogue we met at the dead branch event." he supplied. "Helped us a lot with the assassin monster and his poison."

"Ohh..." Saphira said, still holding Keiran's hand as she served up chicken for both of them. "Did you visit her today?"

"Nah, we just bumped into her." Keiran said, and made an effort to steer the topic away from her. "Where did you and Star disappear off to?"

"We went to visit her parents."

"Ooh. Do they live in Prontera?"

"Yeah, her mum's a Champion with the guild so she has to stay near the abbey."

Keiran stared past Saphira at Astarte, who narrowed her eyes at him slightly.

"What?" she managed through a mouthful of potato.

"Your mum's a _champ?"_ he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, so?"

"Wow that's so badass."

"_How_ is that badass?" Astarte rolled her eyes.

"Champs are badass."

"Champs aren't badass." Kiba contributed from opposite. "Rogues are badass."

"Blank's dad's a rogue." Keiran said, looking at him thoughtfully. "You can tell."

Blank was slouching on the bench, making it look a lot more comfortable than it really was and was attacking a chicken leg with much enthusiasm and little care.

Kiba nodded in agreement.

"What's your dad do, Star?"

"He's a wizard." she replied briefly, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

Keiran blinked. "That makes no sense."

"Why?"

"A wizard and a champ, producing a paladin?"

She shrugged. "Well what're you then?"

"Mum's a Professor, dad's a Creator." he thought about it. "Actually I don't make sense either."

"No, you don't." Astarte agreed.

"Take a guess at me." Kiba said with a grin.

Keiran observed him through narrowed eyes for a moment, trying to cut his chicken without looking and with only one hand. "Aaaa priest aaand... a blacksmith?"

Kiba shook his head. "Wrong and wrong. Dad's a bard, mum was a paladin."

Keiran had enough sense not to ask about the use of the past tense with his mother. "Can you sing then?"

He coloured, shooting a glance at Yule over the other side of the hall with the other group. "I- not really. My brother can though – he's a bard too."

_Bards._ Keiran thought, surprised. He didn't see any similarities between Kiba and the bards and clowns he'd seen. He wasn't particularly romantic, dramatic or creative, which seemed to be prominent characteristics with the entertainers. _He must be a Paladin through and through._

He wondered whether everyone had something of their parents' job in them, and found himself staring at Match – the hardest guy to read of any of them.

"Professor." he decided.

Match looked up, caught Keiran's eye and grinned. "Good guess."

Keiran beamed.

"My father was a Professor. Mum never joined a guild – she's a chef."

"Ooh." Keiran said. Past tense again. It seemed that quite a few of his friends had broken families. It made him think about his own. He had always taken for granted that he had both parents and a brother. He'd never really considered what it might be like to have grown up without a father or as an only child, or to have one or both parents ripped from his life without warning. Maybe he should go visit...

"I dunno what my mum did." Blank contributed, dropping a thoroughly gnawed bone onto his plate. "She fucked off with some other dude after I was born – dumped me on my old man."

No one had anything to say to that, but Keiran couldn't help but wonder if his mother walking out had in some way contributed to his sexuality.

"What about your mother, Darius?" Saphira asked.

Darius smiled softly as he looked up from his book but Keiran could see the hidden pain in his eyes now he knew it was there. "I don't know if she was ever part of a guild – she's never said." And that seemed to be all he was going to say on the matter as he immediately returned to his novel.

"Arthur?" Keiran prompted. For once Arthur seemed to be keeping up with the conversation, his blue eyes flicking to each person as they spoke. It was interesting seeing him so alert at dinner for once. He must have had a good day.

"Um. Mum's a priestess, my dad's a Champion." He frowned at his plate as if it was offending him somehow. "I'm glad the instructors here are nicer than him..." he blinked, looking horrified with himself, and glanced around the hall as if his father might be standing there listening.

Intrigued by this snippet into the life of Arthur, Keiran leaned forward and put his head in his hand as he gazed intently at the poor guy. "Do go on." He ignored Darius' killer glare.

Arthur dropped his knife with a clatter. "Um. Dad is... uuh, I don't think he likes me very much."

Keiran forced his expression into one of greatest sympathy.

"He's never happy with anything I do." Arthur looked depressed. "I try..."

"It shouldn't matter what he thinks." Keiran said, sitting up. He was thinking he could see some similarities between Arthur's father and Darius', and in the way their sons had turned out. "It's your life; you do what the hell you like."

"Damn straight." Blank said, waving a chicken bone in the air. "Next time he says he don't like something, tell him to get fucked."

Keiran grinned at him, but he doubted Arthur was going to take an advice from him. Indeed, Arthur was now looking at Blank as if he might at any moment leap across the table and rape him. Blank noticed, and sneered nastily; Arthur shuffled further down the bench away from him.

Feeling somewhat enlightened by the revelation of his friend's parent's jobs, and just feeling a lot lighter than he had been recently, Keiran didn't leave the dinner table until well after most of the guild had departed and the dishes had been cleared away. And then it was with Saphira on his arm and the prospect of sharing a bed with her that he headed upstairs to get ready for the night.

He actually hummed to himself as he washed his face. This caused Blank at the next sink over to form a strange expression which involved his eyebrows being contracted in a frown, but yet raised, at the same time as he smiled awkwardly. He looked very strange, and Keiran laughed, then laughed at himself for laughing.

"Right." Blank said, and continued combing his hair out. "I won't even ask what you've been fuckin' smoking."

Keiran grinned and squeezed far too much toothpaste onto his toothbrush. He found this very amusing too.

"I wouldn't get too close to that retard," Blank cautioned Kiba as they passed each other in the doorway, jerking his head in Keiran's direction. "He's a bit loco."

Kiba looked at Keiran, who grinned widely and waved, toothpaste all around his mouth.

"I'll be careful." Kiba said slowly and moved around Blank to stand in front of the sink. Keiran grinned at him in the mirror as Blank shook his head and departed.

"..." said Kiba, rubbing at his chin.

Keiran washed off his toothbrush, humming.

"Um."

Noticing a slight uncertainty in Kiba's tone, Keiran stopped his humming and looked at him. He looked very small and shy all of a sudden, like he had done on their first day as swordsmen, and Keiran realised just how much he missed spending time with him.

"I... just wanted to say..." Kiba said carefully, fiddling with his toothbrush. "Thanks. For um, your advice. About Yule." He shot Keiran a glance in the mirror.

Keiran smiled. "That's quite alright, dude." _Anything to get her off my back_. "Did you get her attention then?"

Kiba smiled back, now looking relieved. "Yeah, I guess so. We spent today together."

"Good work." Keiran returned his attention to his hair.

"And um. Sorry." he muttered. "For being such a dick to you recently."

His hands hovering at either side of his head, Keiran paused. "That's alright. I don't blame you, really." _It must have sucked suddenly being left out... _Darius and Arthur didn't need someone to keep them busy, so they didn't mind that Keiran spent so much time with Saphira, but Kiba would be bothered by it... He felt guilty. "I'm sorry too."

"It's okay... Er, d'you think maybe. I dunno... We could go hang out sometime?"

Keiran pondered this. "Yeah... Yeah, I'd like that." He grinned. "No girls?"

"No girls." Kiba agreed, a smile creeping up his face.

"Deal." he finished raking his hair flat and tidied up his space at the bench – most of them had long since given up dragging their stuff to and from the bathroom every morning and night. This of course came with the risk of having your products tampered with, but it was a risk most were willing to take. "See you in the morning."

"See ya." Kiba said, swilling out the sink.

Keiran grinned at him on the way past and headed for the spare room.

Saphira was already in bed, the covers pulled up around her shoulders.

Suddenly unsure of how he should behave and what he should say, Keiran cautiously slid in beside her and as he did so, she rolled over to look at him, her expression neutral. He opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him completely, as they often did when she was so near. So he just gazed into her eyes, and then, very slowly, reached out and pulled her close.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispered into her hair. _Maybe, _maybe somehow she would understand what he had done, without him having to explain it..? Maybe she would forgive him... "I'm really sorry..."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You don't need to apologise."

"Yes I do."

Pulling back slightly, she looked at him, her expression a little concerned; he met her gaze despondently.

"I nearly did something... that would have hurt you," he muttered, looking away, "I never wanted- I don't want to hurt you, ever." He was saying what he wanted to say, what had been on his mind, but would she pick up that he wasn't talking about last night?

She blinked at him, "Keiran, I-"

"So... I just wanted to say sorry." he said, swallowing painfully. "From the bottom of my heart._" I won't do it again... _

"... Keiran..." Saphira breathed, "I... don't know why... Why are you-? It's okay, really. I forgive you."

Keiran closed his eyes and pulled her close again. She said it. She might not have any idea what he was really apologising for, but she said it... She forgave him. And he was freed from the guilt, the feeling of betrayal. _Thank you... _"I love you, so much..."

Her hands tightened their hold on his back as she cuddled up to his chest. "I love you too."

"And..." Keiran said. There was one more thing he wanted to say, if only he could get the words out... "I-I'm willing to wait forever for you."

Saphira stayed quiet for a long time. "I- Thank you... I just hope... you don't have to wait that long."

They lay in silence for a while; so long that Keiran felt his eyelids starting to droop.

"Keiran..?" Saphira whispered.

"Mm?"

"... never mind."

"What is it?" Keiran prised one eye open to look down at her.

He felt her swallow against his chest. "...goodnight kiss?"

Keiran chuckled softly, "go on then."

She pulled herself up and kissed him tenderly, her hands soft against his face, and Keiran returned the kiss just as gently, trying to express his love for her through it. It was a long kiss, filled with meaning, to Keiran at least. He was first to draw back, but rested his forehead against hers and breathed her in for a long moment as she stroked his cheeks, her eyes lightly closed. Then he kissed her again, longing for the taste of her, to commit it to memory. Still he remained gentle.

She broke the kiss this time, gazing into his eyes. He smiled softly and she nuzzled into his neck, arranging her arms around his chest with a very quiet sigh.

Keiran, overwhelmed by the emotions and unspoken messages he had received through their kiss and from her eyes, held her close, feeling that tonight had quashed any doubts they might have had in their love for each other, and left them closer than ever.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\


	22. Part 22: Back to normal, mostly

And so we come to the end of the second document. I'm feeling lazy so that's all I'll write for now. Damn I'll actually have to start writing again...

Love you guys! Thanks for the comments. :3

Characters belong to their respective owners. Ragnarok © Gravity

* * *

"Pst."

Keiran frowned. There it was again.

"PSSST!"

He glanced behind him. There was nothing there but rose bushes.

Just as he lost interest in the bushes and started walking again, the white flowered rose bush wiggled a branch at him. "Oi." it said.

Keiran stopped and stared.

"Come 'ere." the bush said.

"Yeah, like I'm going to trust a talking rose bush." Keiran muttered, trying to keep his voice low so that the nearby gang of male Champions, who appeared to be body slamming each other with many cries of 'bro!', didn't think he was crazy.

A head appeared from behind the plant. It was grinning. "Will you trust a harmless acolyte instead?"

Keiran shrugged.

The 'harmless acolyte' glanced around, and then darted around the corner of the church and out of sight. A second later, his face appeared again. "Coming?"

_What the hell._ Keiran thought, but he was grinning. This was something that didn't usually happen after church and he was interested to see what this acolyte wanted, especially since the service had long since ended and the rest of the acolytes had already been shepherded off do to whatever it was they did on a Sunday afternoon.

With a quick look over at the rest of the Crusader swordsmen, who were gathered around the base of the steps leading up to the Church waiting for their seniors, Keiran slipped into the garden and around the edge of the huge building, and came face to face with the acolyte.

"Hey," he said, grinning.

"Hello." Keiran replied, analysing him. He was about the same age and height as him, but lacked Keiran's ever-building muscle; however he still _looked _to be a similar build to Keiran, thanks to the acolyte's very unflattering, puffy white robe. Although, his attire did nothing to detract from his extreme good looks; he had a head of silken black hair, falling haphazardly into his long brown eyes and a soft face...

"Sorry about making you trek through the garden." the acolyte said. He had a light voice, but he sounded confident. Sure of himself. "Only I'd get detention again if anyone spotted me out front..."

Keiran raised an eyebrow. He didn't quite trust this guy, but he was an acolyte – what could he do, really? "Did you want something?"

"Yeah." the acolyte dragged him back over to the corner of the church and peered around it. "That girl, there." he pointed in the general direction of the swordswomen.

"Which one?" Keiran was now extremely amused. "The one with the purple hair?" he guessed. Yule was usually the one that guys looked at first.

Surprisingly the acolyte shook his head, "No, no, the blonde. Is she single?"

Keiran couldn't help himself, he laughed out loud; the acolyte grinned along, despite not getting the joke.

"No, she's very taken." he managed. _By me._

The acolyte looked crestfallen. "Oh darn." he looked back around the corner consideringly. "How about the purple one then?"

"She's taken too." Keiran said decisively. If he was going to try get on better terms with Kiba, handing his would-be girlfriend over to an acolyte was probably not the best way of going about it.

"The red-head?"

"Currently single, to my knowledge." Keiran chuckled. He'd never imagined that he would ever be in this position, explaining the relationship status of his comrades to an acolyte.

The acolyte grinned. "Reckon you can set me up with her?"

"Aren't there any female acos or something?"

"Oh yeah, there's heaps," he said breezily. "Just, we're not allowed to be, hm, in relationships. Strictly speaking. But if she were someone from another guild, then there's less chance of everyone finding out about it and I won't get in trouble!" he thought about it for a moment. "That's the plan, anyway."

Keiran felt a little sorry for him; not allowed to be in a relationship? Just how strict were these priests? However, from the sly look in the aco's eyes, it was probably just as well that he wasn't allowed near the girls.

"So, can you set me up with her then?" he asked eagerly, peeking around the corner again.

"I'm not sure that-" Keiran started.

"Pique de Valera!"

The acolyte winced and very slowly looked up. Keiran looked up too, to see a High Priestess leaning out of the window a floor above them.

"_What_ do you think you are doing in the garden with that swordsman?" she asked furiously.

"Nothing, at the moment." Pique called back. "We were just talking."

Keiran grinned to support this and she glared at him instead. He wilted.

The priestess disappeared for a moment, and then returned to scowling at the acolyte, who had taken the opportunity in her absence to smooth his hair. "de Valera, I want you back up here right this instant."

"Yes m'lady." Pique said, sweeping into a bow, then straightened and winked at Keiran. "Did you hear? She wants me."

Keiran laughed, and was hit on the head by a scrubbing brush. "Ow!"

"And _you! _Go back to where you came from and stop distracting my students!" the High Priestess yelled, waving another brush at him menacingly.

"I should have warned you, they have good aim with those things..." Pique muttered as they made their way back through the garden, the scrubbing brush under one arm. He looked to the sky and sighed dramatically. "This could be the last time I ever see the sky..." he said woefully, looking over at the swordswomen. "The last time I ever lay eyes on a beautiful woman..."

"Cheer up." Keiran said lightly. He was enjoying this fellow's company - he was rather amusing. "That priestess wasn't too bad."

"Yes, but she's really mean to me." he pouted.

"That! Is because you don't do your work!" exclaimed a female acolyte, emerging through the church doors brandishing a broom. "Get your arse inside."

Pique pouted a little more, "but, Anya-"

"Don't even try it." she said, raising the broom.

"I was just talking to my new friend, er..."

"Keiran." Keiran supplied helpfully.

"Yes, Keiran." Pique grinned. "I wasn't doing anything wrong. Macy just over-reacted, as usual."

"Over-reacted? Last time you were caught outside you had your tongue down some girl's throat!"

"Aah... She was a good kisser..." Pique said wistfully, and was beaten over the back of the knees with a broom for his troubles. He yelped.

"Get! Inside!" Anya the acolyte ordered, swinging the broom again.

"Ow! I'm sorry, Keiran! Our discussion will have to wait until later!" Pique wailed, and sprinted inside.

Keiran chuckled to himself and went to join the other swordsmen, who were looking over to see what the drama was. When he was nearly there he realised he was being followed.

"Oh no..." Blank said.

Anya narrowed her eyes at him. "Shouldn't you be somewhere? Like, prison maybe?"

"Prison? Why the fuck would I be there?"

"You're a menace to society. You need locking up." She said simply, as if this were common knowledge, examining the end of her broom.

"If anyone needs locking up it's you, you crazy bitch!"

Keiran stepped out from between them. He'd never heard Blank swear at a girl seriously before... It was different, and rather scary.

"I'm a crazy bitch now? I thought I was a whore." Anya adjusted her grip on the broom and stepped forward.

Blank moved forward too, bristling. "You're both."

"You need a haircut" she observed.

"I like my damn hair this way, thank you."

"You look like a bloody girl."

"I don't fucking give a toss."

They glared at each other for a moment, and then she said, "pig."

"Whore." he retorted.

"Fag!"

"Bitch!"

Keiran sidled over to Match, who was watching the pair swearing at each other, nose to nose (or more like nose to collarbone), with apparent amusement. "Did I miss something here?"

Match looked at him briefly. "Oh, apparently Blank and Anya go back a while... She, er, doesn't like men or something, and with him being gay they kinda really hit it off."

"Hit it off... Yes." Keiran raised an eyebrow at the little acolyte waving the broom under Blank's chin. They had progressed to three-word insults such as 'fucking arrogant slut' and 'filthy lecherous bastard'.

"I think he's really quite fond of her." Match said. "Despite, um... that." he waved his hand in their direction. Anya had somehow got Blank in a headlock and was trying to strangle him as he tried _not_ to trip over the broom which had ended up between his legs. Both were still swearing colourfully, if breathlessly.

Keiran pondered this. While it was true that guys tended to pick on girls they had a crush on, he didn't think it applied in this case. ... Sibling-like rivalry instead maybe? Yes, maybe that was it. They were both blonde even...

"Are you not worried?" he asked anyway. Match did seem totally unconcerned that his boyfriend was being submitted to a punishment that some people may consider flirting. Although, Anya did look like she was seriously trying to kill Blank... "Threatened?"

"No, why would I be? She's a girl. Blank's not interested in women. The only person I feel threatened by is-" Match stopped suddenly and blushed, looking in the opposite direction. "Um, never mind."

Keiran blinked at him questioningly, but as much as he wanted to know who it was that he thought could take Blank from him, he didn't ask. He couldn't have anyway, as at that moment the rest of the Crusader's guild began to emerge from the church, making a lot of noise, and Keiran's eye was drawn to something else.

Sir Kuronosu, in freshly polished and shined armour, was arm in arm with a most beautiful woman dressed in pale blue robes of a High Priestess, her creamy white hair plaited over her shoulder. She was talking animatedly to him as they walked and he was smiling; his eyes, fixed on hers, were filled with adoration.

It made Keiran smile. He was happy for his teacher. Sometimes he had just looked so lonely...

Saphira chose that moment to join him, sneaking her arm around his waist and she pecked him softly on the jaw.

Keiran smiled at her. "Did you see Kuro's girlfriend?"

"Yes, she's really beautiful." Saphira gazed back in their direction, just as Kuronosu bent to kiss the lady's fine hand. Then, with one last sweeping bow to her, he spun around and straightened his back, marching to the front of the group. Every crusader that he passed stood to attention, just as Keiran found himself doing as their leader paused not far away and turned to address his guild.

He was radiating confidence as he called, his voice strong, "Crusaders!"

Those who hadn't been watching him before certainly were now, silence falling over the entire group.

He cast his eyes over them all, his face solemn. Then he smiled. "Let's go home."

As the rest of the guild began the walk home, their conversations resuming, Keiran saw Kuronosu look back towards the church doors, where his lady was still standing, smiling. She raised her hand in farewell, and he returned the gesture.

So the announcement-but-not had been for her? Keiran was sorely tempted to go push Kuro playfully and call him a show-off, but didn't think that would gain anything for either of them. As it happened, Komi had the same idea and tackled Kuronosu a moment later, ruffling his hair and laughing. Kuronosu grinned sheepishly, but made no move to push him off.

Keiran glanced back one last time to see the High Priestess laugh quietly to herself and shake her head as she turned to go back inside, beckoning for Anya to follow her, and then they were gone.

"That was so cute." Saphira said, linking arms with Keiran as they set off.

"I didn't realise he was so..." Keiran failed to find a word.

"Romantic?" she offered.

"Yeah."

"Chivalrous?"

"That too."

"Handsome? Brave? Strong? Everything you're not?" Astarte supplied.

Keiran pulled a face at her.

"Keiran bought me flowers once." Saphira said, possibly trying to defend him.

"Yeah, _once_." Astarte snorted.

"I prefer to give lasting gifts." Keiran said defensively. "But, I'm kinda broke now." _Maybe I should have got her a necklace or something instead of that shield... But it was under half price!_

"You don't have to give me anything," Saphira said, patting his arm kindly.

He kissed the side of her head softly. "Oh!"

The girls looked at him.

"I just remembered. Star, there was an aco before asking about you."

"Oh..?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeaaah. He seemed interested in meeting you."

"Oh..?"

"His name waaas... Pique?"

"Oh, him." Astarte scowled at the footpath, no longer interested.

"You know him?"

"Not personally. But one of my friends is an acolyte – she was telling me about him. He's only 16 and he's already tried to sleep with most of the girls in their class." she pulled a face. "And the instructors too apparently..."

"Legend." Keiran was impressed. But judging by how both girls were now looking at him, he wasn't supposed to be. He quickly rearranged his face into a disapproving scowl.

"Men." Astarte snorted.

"Women!" Blank roared, storming past with Match close behind. "Fucking bloody _women! _They're all the damn same! Fucking psychos, the lot of them!"

Saphira and Astarte exchanged a significant glance, and jumped on him.

Thereby proving his point.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

"We have, one two three, four! Four hours until dinner." Keiran announced to the common room at large, hoping to start some sort of... something. He'd been left with Darius, Arthur and Kiba for company. Astarte had very helpfully stolen Saphira again 'to go clothes shopping with the other girls' straight after they had arrived back at the castle after church, and Keiran was not impressed.

Nobody moved.

"I want to go do somethiiiiiiiing," he tried hopefully.

Arthur blinked drearily at him, Kiba scribbled absently on a piece of newspaper, and Darius turned the page on his book.

Keiran blew out one cheek sulkily, "okay fine. I'll go do something by myself." He sighed and left the room, feeling most let down.

"Er, Keiran?" said Kiba, appearing in the doorway behind him.

"Wazzup?" Keiran said boredly.

"What were you going to do?"

"Er. Dunno. I have an urge to go beat things up though. So maybe I'll find a Paladin and go out there a few fields." he waved his hand vaguely.

"Training?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Can I come?"

Keiran stopped talking to the wall and turned to face him. "Well _yeah?_ I was kinda just asking if you wanted to before."

"Really? I thought you were just complaining." Kiba rolled his eyes. "As usual." Keiran shoved him lightly and continued on down the hall.

"You can come just so long as you don't get in my way!" he called back over his shoulder.

Not too long after found them both standing in the courtyard with their shields on their backs and their swords on their hips, waiting for their ride. By some stroke of pure luck, when Keiran had approached Sir Kuronosu to ask if he knew any Paladins who were free and bored (Xin, who was Keiran's first thought, turned out to be away today), a female Paladin had come up to him and asked to borrow a Clairvoyant rosary (whatever that was) from the guild storage for her unknown expedition to some field up north. Kuronosu had looked from her, to the swordsmen, and back again, and smiled.

"Keiran, Kiba, this is Jackie."

Jackie, or Jak, as she preferred to be known as, had been more than happy for the swordies to accompany her and her friend Bell. Bell wasn't quite so keen on the tagalongs, but after she had glared at the swordsmen for a little while, she seemed to get over it and became quite chatty.

They were off saddling up their pecopecos right now.

"So..." said Keiran, shooting a sidelong glance at Kiba, breaking the rather awkward silence that had fallen between them. "Nice sword?"

Kiba looked down at it, stowed safely in its sleek black sheath. "Thanks. It's a sabre."

Keiran ooh'd appreciatively.

"Nice shield?"

"Thanks." Keiran said, and grinned. "It's a mirror shield."

"Ahh, nice."

They lapsed into silence again.

Keiran took the opportunity to look at Kiba properly for the first time in a while. He hadn't grown at all over the last six months, height-wise, and was probably about 5'10, whereas Keiran was now hovering around the 6 foot mark with Darius. And contrary to what he thought, Kiba had developed some very decent muscle tone. _He probably has a better body than any of the swordie guys, _Keiran thought sulkily, wondering how many sit-ups he was doing now.

"Oh, here they come." said Kiba, straightening up from his slouch.

Keiran followed his gaze to the gate leading out to the stables, from where two armoured pecopecos had come into view, their riders chatting happily. The pecos, Keiran noticed, matched exactly, from the blue ring markings around their eyes right down to the banding on their tails feathers. Siblings maybe.

"Keiran, isn't it?" the Paladin named Bell said, steering her pecopeco over to him as her friend moved over to Kiba.

Looking up at her, Keiran nodded. "Yes miss."

She flicked her reins over the saddle horn and slid gracefully down to stand beside him on the ground. "Ridden before?"

"Yes miss." Keiran replied promptly.

Bell observed him for a moment through her deep green eyes, her eyebrows drawn together in a slight scowl. "Oh..?"

"At the DB event, miss." he added hastily. He'd almost forgotten that strictly speaking they shouldn't have ridden yet.

"Aah, of course." Bell nodded, smacking her peco on the beak as it tried to rub on her. "Up you get then."

Keiran blinked, glancing up at the empty saddle nervously. It looked a long way up. Had he been expecting that she would lift him up just as Hikari had done? He looked back at her; she was only half Hikari's size. "Um." he said.

"Put your foot in the stirrup- no, left foot. _Left._ Tango, _stand up_." Bell slapped the bird on the shoulder and it wriggled in protest; Keiran hopping after it on one leg, clinging to the saddle to keep his balance as his left foot was in the stirrup and wasn't for coming out. _Shit._

Bell suddenly grabbed his right leg, just below the knee, "on the count of three, jump."

"What-?" Keiran started. The bird was still fidgeting - how was he expected to get on?

"One, two, three." On three Bell had pushed him upwards, just as he had jumped. Hastily he dragged himself onto the saddle and sat down, clinging to the horn tightly as the peco shuffled around. Bell's saddle didn't have a strap on the front like Hikari's did... He tried not to panic.

"Okay, move forward; I'm coming up."

Keiran did so, and a moment later Bell was in the saddle behind him, one arm around his waist, and he immediately felt more secure.

"Urgh, you're too tall." she commented.

"Sorry." Keiran said, glancing over his shoulder and finding himself looking at her forehead. "Oh."

Bell snorted, grinning up at him. "Oh is right."

There was a laugh and Keiran and Bell turned to see Jak sitting comfortably aboard her peco with Kiba in front of her, the pair both grinning.

"You guys look cosy." Jak said with a wink. "Who's riding Tango? You or him?"

"Shut up." Bell retorted. "You guys are looking pretty friendly over there too." She smirked.

Jak grinned slyly and tightened her hold around Kiba's waist, pulling him into a hug. "He's all nice and squishy – I just can't help myself."

Kiba, blushing bright red, said nothing, carefully avoiding Keiran's eye. _Squishy?_ Keiran laughed, and was instantly seized around the middle from behind and pulled against the Paladin's armoured chest.

"Hmm... You're right. They _are _quite squishy." Bell agreed.

It was Kiba's turn to laugh as Keiran protested. Bell didn't let go of him however, until they were out of the castle grounds and well onto the fields, even though he had informed her that he had a girlfriend and wasn't going to fall off if she let go, _really_. Jak and Kiba found this all very amusing, much to Keiran's growing embarrassment.

As such he was very relieved when she finally relaxed her hold and settled back in the saddle, steering her peco neatly into place beside Jak's. Keiran cleared his throat and adjusted his tunic, shooting a sharp look at Kiba, who grinned.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." he said.

"You'd better not."

"Bah, you can hardly be held responsible." Bell commented mildly. "It's not your fault you're travelling with a pair of women who have been denied squishable men for so long." Jak laughed loudly in response.

Keiran and Kiba exchanged a glance.

"So," Jak said when she had recovered, "what're you guys wanting to do out there?"

"Training." Keiran said simply.

"Oh I see." she nodded. "You know that field is full of bugs, right?"

"What sort of bugs?" Kiba asked. He looked a little pale.

"Ooh just some centipedes, mantises and spiders."

"Ah."

Bell had been watching his expression and had noticed his expression freeze at the mention of spiders. "Don't like argos's?"

"Not really." Kiba admitted.

"Don't blame you there. They're all claws and fangs and hair, urrgh." she said; Keiran felt her shudder behind him.

"Pecos love 'em though." Jak contributed lightly. "Snap crunch- no more spider."

"Please, Jak, I just ate." Bell sounded nauseous.

"My bad." Jak grinned. "Just the thought of the juice leaking out of them is enough to make you puke, huh?"

Bell scowled at her.

"What are you ladies heading out there for?" Keiran asked.

Jak and Bell exchanged a look, and burst into fits of giggling.

The boys both raised an eyebrow.

"There's an um." Bell managed eventually. "A thing."

"A thing?" Keiran said, bemused.

"A thing." Jak agreed, and then they both started giggling again.

"A thing?" Keiran asked Kiba.

"A thing." Kiba replied, itching his ear as he shrugged.

"What's a 'thing'?" Keiran tried, directing this question over his shoulder at the laughing Paladin.

Bell pulled something out of her saddlebag and handed it to him. "Read that."

"No! Don't let him read it!" Jak shrieked, steering her peco closer and trying to snatch away the letter Bell had just handed him. "Bell!"

Bell grinned, moving them out of the way easily. With some difficulty, as he was only using one hand while the other clung to the saddle horn, Keiran unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

"... A love letter?" he said blankly after a moment.

"Yes." Bell grinned and took it out of his unresisting hand; Jak immediately snatched it from her and, blushing, tucked it safely into her own saddle bag. Kiba looked as if he was trying not the look too disappointed that he hadn't been able to read it too.

"What... What has a love letter got to do with anything?" Keiran asked, totally lost.

"It's for the In- _thing._" Bell grinned.

"But what is the 'thing'?"

"You'll see."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The 'thing' turned out to be a tall, slender man dressed in thigh high, footless boots, leather undies and what appeared to be an extended belt, with braces. His silken blonde hair flowed down to his elbows, neatly tucked between the deep purple leathery wings that protruded from each shoulder blade; at the top of his head were two sharp horns, pointing skywards. The horns were very familiar to Keiran. They were the horns he was supposed to be saving for – the horns of an Incubus.

They had been some way into their training, in the process of fighting with a small blue dragon known as a petite, when Bell had suddenly shouted that she had spotted 'him'. Jak had immediately killed the dragon while the boys complained about her kill-stealing and shooed them back to the pecopecos.

"Where?" Jak asked, sidling over to her friend.

Bell pointed, and Jak gasped. "He's beautiful."

Kiba raised an eyebrow and said "..."

"..." agreed Keiran.

"Okay! Okay, um." Jak said in a rush, turning to the swordsmen. "Stay here okay? I don't want him dead." and with that she was off towards the man, her love letter clutched in her hand.

"Good luck!" Bell called after her, a grin on her face.

"What." Kiba said.

"She's going to tame him." Bell explained, watching her friend draw closer to the Incubus, who looked up from fiddling with his hair as she approached. "Try to, anyway."

"... With a love letter?" Keiran asked in disbelief.

"Yes." She spared him a glance. "With a love letter."

Keiran turned back to the Paladin and her Incubus. She was saying something to him, blushing. The Incubus had his fine head on the side, watching her through his long red eyes. Keiran realised randomly that he looked rather like Blank. Jak suddenly held the letter out, and the monster took it, unfolding it curiously.

There was a long pause, and then the Incubus looked from the letter to the Paladin, and back again. Then back to the Paladin, his expression considering.

"Is it working?" said Kiba.

"I don't know." Bell admitted, a slight frown on her face.

Jak said something else to him, and he bared his pointed fangs in a grin and then looked away, blushing.

Keiran heard Jak's squeal of happiness even from this distance, and Bell clapped her hands over her mouth as Jak started jogging back to them, the Incubus trotting along behind her.

"It worked!" she exclaimed, seizing her friend around the waist, "I tamed him!"

Bell grinned, patting her on the back. "I knew it would."

Meanwhile, Keiran and Kiba had found themselves face to face with a half-naked man at least a head taller than Keiran.

"Er." said Kiba.

The Incubus blinked down at him questioningly, his lips parted slightly; Keiran noticed the length of his fangs.

"Er, it-" Keiran started.

"He." Jak corrected instantly.

"_He. _He won't bite, will he?"

"I don't know. He might." Jak smiled at the monster fondly and he meandered over to her, his eyes downcast. "Don't bite anyone, will you?"

The Incubus met her gaze and shook his head, making a strange purring noise in the back of his throat.

"Are you hungry?" Bell asked. The Incubus quickly hid behind his new owner, peering out from behind her.

"Quietly, Bell, he's shy." Jak scolded softly.

Bell pulled a face. "You ask him then."

She did so, and the Incubus nodded. Jak pulled a large white flower out of her saddle bag and held it out to the monster, who snuffled at it before taking it and stuffing the whole thing into his mouth, smiling contently as he chewed.

"... Nice table manners." Kiba observed. Keiran agreed with him, and then spotted an Argos skittering across the ground towards them.

"Kiba." he said, poking his friend.

Kiba looked around and paled. "That's a fucking huge-ass spider."

"That's what I thought too." Keiran draw his sword and readied his shield. Argoses (or was it Argi?), he knew, were very fast moving, but quite slow at attacking, and liked to trap their prey in webs to make things easier for themselves. _But_, swordsmen being close-range attackers, as were the spiders, their webs were practically useless against them, thankfully. Unless you wanted to run away.

"..." said Kiba, reluctantly following Keiran's example.

Keiran moved forwards, so that the spider would target him rather than Kiba, and braced himself as the spider picked up speed, its eight legs working madly and its mouthparts waving.

It was a lot lighter than Keiran had expected it to be when it finally hit him, and he only staggered half a pace back before he pressed forwards, bringing his sword around to attack as it flailed its front legs at him.

And then the legs stopped moving, and Keiran followed the legs back to its bulbous body and to the sword stuck through its back.

"Urgh." said Kiba, wrenching his sword free and pulling a face at the green goo now dripping from it.

"Kill-stealer." Keiran grinned.

"Shut it." Kiba brandished his weapon in Keiran's direction, splattering the ground with gore.

"I thought you were just gonna cower in the background."

"And watch you have all the fun? Unlikely." Kiba snorted, poking through the remains.

"Anything decent?"

"Nup." Kiba straightened up.

Keiran watched him closely – he was wearing an expression that was not to be trusted... And he still hadn't wiped the slime off his blade. Keiran wasn't sure he liked where this was probably going, and he edged away.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at him. "Where are you going?"

"Away."

"Why?"

"Because." Keiran turned and ran, slinging his shield on his back as he did so.

This map provided many hiding spots in the form of humungous lily pad-like flowers at least three times as tall as him and many, many times wider, and it was behind a very purple one of these that he paused, breathing heavily and glanced back. Kiba was still following him, his sword still dripping ominously, an evil grin still on his face.

"Arrgh." Keiran said quietly, and analysed his surroundings.

He was in a particularly thick part of the forest of the giant flowers, and there was a loud buzzing coming from _that _orange one there – _best to avoid that... _And _there _was a flora, and another _there_. He made a note to avoid them too. From a distance, floras looked like peaceful monsters, similar in appearance to a pink sunflower, their leaves waving; but the moment you got within reach they turned vicious, striking at their foe with their squared-off teeth. Keiran had received a bruise on his arm earlier when he had stepped too close to one.

His analysis did him no good however, as Kiba spotted him before he had even worked out where he was going next, and wandered around his flower casually, that evil grin still on his face.

"Why did you run away?" he asked.

Keiran backed off, dragging his shield off his back again as he watched Kiba wave the gooey sword. "Maybe coz you're plotting something unpleasant?"

"Hah!" Kiba laughed.

"Don't you 'hah' me."

"I'll 'hah' you if I like." he moved forwards.

Keiran froze, his smile slipping. "Um Kiba-"

"Just stand still and you won't get cut." Kiba advised.

"No- look behind you."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, like I'm gonna do that."

"Seriously, there's a- er, thing."

Kiba snorted and lifted his sword. However, Keiran wasn't watching him anymore – his full attention was on the... thing behind Kiba. It appeared to be a blob of pink slime, wearing a glove.

"Kiba, I'm not joking. There is a monster. Behind you." Keiran tried, drawing his sword.

With a disbelieving laugh, Kiba finally shot a glance over his shoulder, and froze too. "Oh," he said.

"Told you." Keiran muttered.

"What. Is it?" Kiba asked, shuffling back to stand beside Keiran, his weapons ready.

"I have no idea."

"Do you think we can take it?"

The hand monster didn't seem to have noticed them yet – it was just ambling along between the flowers. It didn't look dangerous, and it wasn't very fast, or big. But it was coming closer, and they needed to make up their minds quickly if they were going to run.

"I have no idea, but I'm willing to try." Keiran shot Kiba a grin; he grinned back, just as the monster spotted them.

"Here it comes." Kiba said unnecessarily, taking up his duel stance.

As Keiran positioned himself defensively, he noticed that Kiba's stance put him low to the ground, well braced from all angles, with his shield held in such a way that it protected his entire front; his sword poking around the edge and pointed directly at the monster, ready to be thrust forward. _A spear-user's stance_, Keiran realised, and opened his mouth to comment on this, but the monster was suddenly on them, throwing itself at Kiba's shield with a sort of squelchy thud.

Kiba stabbed it, and it withdrew slightly, squeaking. Keiran leapt forward and rammed his sword into it randomly, wondering if the thing had a heart, or a brain, and where they were if it did. The monster made a quiet wailing noise and slapped him out of the way, sending him rolling across the grass.

With an anxious glance in his friend's direction, Kiba caught a slap against his shield and stabbed again. "You okay?" he called, ducking to avoid another swipe.

Keiran dragged himself back to his feet, and shook his head vigorously. "Yup, I'm fine."

"Good, come help-" he darted to the left, "me, will you?"

"Cor it's fast." Keiran observed, hoisting his shield to a more comfortable position as he went to rejoin the battle – the hand creature was slapping at Kiba with crazy speed, giving the boy only just enough time to right himself after each dodge before he had to avoid another attack.

"Yes- it is." Kiba managed, twisting his sword where it was sunk deep into the monster's body. It squealed. "So stop talking-! And HELP."

Ducking under its wildly flailing hand, Keiran jumped around to what possibly could be called its back (although the thing had no face so it was hard to tell) and jabbed his sword into it. There was a nasty grating noise as his blade met Kiba's somewhere within its body, and the monster spasmed, smacking at Keiran; he caught the blows on his shield, giving Kiba chance to inflict some decent damage with his Bash skill before it changed targets again. Keiran raised his sword over his head and brought it down with extra force, just as Kiba had done, and leapt back to avoid being slapped across the field again.

And so it continued in this vein for what seemed like an age. In truth it had only been about five minutes.

Five times Keiran found himself thrown from the battle by the monster, and it was happening more and more often as his energy started to run out. He was starting to think running away would be a good idea... Picking himself up once again he raked his hair back, and his hand came back bloody. He stared at it. How had that happened..?

"Keiran!" Kiba yelled.

Keiran snapped his head around. Kiba was leaning against his shield, forcing the monster back, but he too was losing energy and it was only a matter of time before-

With a sharp squeak, the monster swung and caught Kiba with its hand, and he was sent rolling after Keiran. Keiran rushed over to him.

"Where are the frickin' Paladins?" Kiba managed through gritted teeth, sitting up and rubbing his shoulder.

"I don't know." Keiran admitted. "I think we'll have to run."

Kiba chewed his lip, watching the monster turn and start moving towards them.

"I know that makes it seem like a waste... But it's not dying and we can't keep this up." Keiran said slowly. He didn't want to leave the monster, not when he felt like they'd done so much, but he wasn't going to last much longer. "_I_ can't keep this up anyway."

Kiba looked around at him, his gaze focused on Keiran's hairline, which, now that he thought about, stung rather. He nodded once. "Let's get out of here."

As one, they turned and bolted back in the direction they had come from; Keiran hoping and praying that the Paladins hadn't gone anywhere and that they didn't encounter anything more dangerous before they found them.

"Wooah, woah, stop." Kiba said after they had safely cleared the flower patch, grabbing the back of Keiran's tunic and pulling him to a halt.

Puffed, Keiran stared back the way they had come, expecting to see the white glove emerging from behind a flower at any moment. "Is it gone?"

"I think so." Kiba doubled over, clutching his side.

"Aaah, so you're not, so fit, after all." Keiran wheezed, grinning.

"Shut. Up."

Keiran laughed, breathlessly, and Kiba shoved him. Unable to keep his balance in his current state, Keiran fell over, straight into a puddle.

"..." he said.

Kiba blinked at him, and then a grin spread across his face and he burst out laughing.

The puddle was unpleasantly warm, ankle-deep, and had bits of green stuff floating in it. Keiran crawled out of it dejectedly and picked one of said green bits off his arm, pulling a face.

"That makes up for not getting to slime you earlier," Kiba said, grinning from ear to ear.

"... I think I might have preferred the slime." Keiran replied, wiping at his butt to dislodge any green bits that might be hanging on. "Actually, I'd have preferred neither."

Still laughing, Kiba offered him a hand and pulled Keiran to his feet, wrinkling his nose. "Pah, you smell like pond."

"Whose fault is that, I wonder?" Keiran said breezily, attempting to rub some pond weed into Kiba's hair. Unfortunately, Kiba moved too quick and the weed fell harmlessly to the floor.

"Where have you been!" a female voice shrieked, and the swordsmen spun around as the two Paladins on their pecos come screeching to a halt nearby, the pet Incubus close behind.

"In the bushes" said Keiran with a smirk.

"You're bleeding!" Jak cried, leaping off her peco and rushing to Keiran's aid.

"Yeah, we ran into a... thing." he grinned, and she paused in her examination of Keiran's head to stare at him.

"A thing?" she asked.

"A thing, yeah." he confirmed.

"What sort of thing?"

"A thi-"

"Keiran, shut up and tell her." Kiba said, rolling his eyes.

Keiran pouted. "You tell her."

Kiba shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "No."

"You're so weird." Keiran sighed.

"So what?" Bell prompted, leading her peco up to them as Jak seized Keiran's head in her hands again, pushing his hair out of whatever wound he had gained this time.

"There was a monster. Um, it was like a pink hand thing, wearing a glove."

"A sting?" Jak blinked. She had an interesting eye colour that seemed to be green, blue and brown all at the same time...

"I don't know."

Jak exchanged a glance with Bell.

"... We're going to have to report this." Bell muttered, rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah..." Jak cleaned Keiran's wound with some water from her canteen, and healed him, before turning to Kiba. Keiran felt better immediately.

"An Incubus, and a sting... In a map where they don't belong." Bell said. She seemed to be talking to herself, or to the flower she was facing. "Illegal DBing?"

"It seems that way." Jak agreed, looking at her Incubus; he smiled shyly.

"Illegal DBing?" Keiran repeated.

"Yeah, it's illegal to break dead branches on fields without the written permission of the King himself." Bell explained. "They're only to be broken in the rooms in town specifically designed for that purpose." She sighed. "But some people chose to break the law rather than pay the hire fees for the rooms..."

"If you DB in a field, you see, you can teleport away if you summon anything too strong, but of course that means the monster is left there for someone else to find." Jak added worriedly. "It's not safe."

"Did you kill it?" Bell asked suddenly.

"No-"

The Paladins both leapt abroad their pecos as if the ground had suddenly turned to lava or something.

"Which way?" Bell demanded.

"That way..?" Keiran pointed back towards the flower forest, stunned by their abruptness.

The girls dug their heels in and were gone, leaving the swordsmen staring after them with their mouths open.

"What just happened?" Kiba asked thickly.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"Are... Are we supposed to stay here, d'you think?"

"I dunno bout you, but I'm got going off into the bushes with God knows what lurking in there." Keiran said, his mind travelling back to the dead branch event and the monsters that they had summoned there; the giant knight of the abyss, the flaming bird that had sent people rolling in all directions, the zealotus and her bladed minions... He didn't want to meet any of those again any time soon, least of all in the middle of nowhere when their caregivers were off hand-hunting.

"You wuss." Kiba grinned. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Keiran wiped some slime off his knees. "It's hiding. Right behind my sense of I-don't-want-to-die. In case you didn't notice, my head was bleeding all over the show until just now."

With a snort, Kiba slung his shield onto his back, rolling his eyes at Keiran. "It was just a cut. And anyway, what's that you always say? 'It takes more than that to kill me'?"

"Yes, everyone knows that." Keiran raised his eyebrows, as if daring Kiba to challenge him.

Kiba stared at him for a moment, his mouth moving as he tried to work out what to say in reply to that, then turned away to hide his grin. "You're such a dick."

Keiran grinned, and shoved a handful of slime down the back of Kiba's tunic.

"Nngh!" Kiba managed, his teeth gritted.

Laughing, Keiran danced out of Kiba's range and watched him struggle to get it out.

"Fucking bastard!"

"Careful!" Keiran trilled, "You're in danger of sounding like Blank!"

With a last twist, Kiba succeeded in dragging the lump of green stuff out and flicked it onto the ground with his face crumpled in disgust. "You're so gonna pay for that."

"Actually, no. I think that makes us even." Keiran said lightly.

Kiba glared at him for a bit, rubbing his back. Then he sighed, sagging in defeat, too exhausted to retaliate. "What was I gonna say before?"

"I don't know, what were you going to say?"

He ignored this, and went to scratch his chin, but stopped, scowling, and shook some stray pond weed off his hand. "Oh right. Uh... Oh! I was gonna say- Is it possible for you to go out somewhere and _not_ get injured?"

Keiran shrugged.

"I mean, there was the sunstroke at the DB event-"

"Technically that's not an _injury-_"

"And on that field trip out East you got that black eye, and the one to the desert and that puppy bit you-"

"Okay, we get it-" Keiran said, waving his hands to encourage him to stop talking.

"And just in these last few days even! You got KO'd at Moscovia, and that seal got you-"

"How'd you know about that?"

"And then today as well!"

"... Do you have a point?" Keiran was starting to think he _did _have a point though... Usually, if anyone was going to get hurt on a fieldtrip, it was him. Hell, even Arthur got injured less than him. And it's not like he was careless or anything, on the contrary, he was always careful when fighting, but _somehow_ he'd nearly always get hurt. He just seemed kinda accident prone whenever he had a sword in his hand...

"It's like you go looking for trouble or something." Kiba pulled a face. "You're not a masochist are you?"

"I'm surprised you even know what that word means." Keiran raised an eyebrow, and was shoved in response. "I don't get injured on purpose." he said flatly.

"Just accidentally-on-purpose?"

"No, fool. Why would..." Keiran trailed off. Why would what? Why would anyone hurt themselves on purpose? But that was what they would be doing, wasn't it? When they became Crusaders? They would be constantly causing themselves pain while they trained if they were using Grand Cross, or Devotion... But that was different – that pain was for a reason, to protect themselves or others...

"You're right." Kiba said quietly, facing the other way. Keiran realised he must have said some of his thoughts out loud. "It is different..."

Kiba stood up straighter and spun around to face Keiran. "Hey, you're going to be a devo-pally, right?"

"Yeah."

"..." Kiba's expression shifted around a bit, and then he looked away, blushing slightly. "Promise you'll be careful?"

"What?" Keiran said, stunned.

"Just… Don't kill yourself."

"Uh- I won't?"

"I just- Never mind." Kiba turned away again. "Sorry, forget I said anything" he muttered.

Keiran gazed at the back of his head, considering his words. He was rather touched that Kiba was concerned for his safety even though it would be a long time before he learnt how to use Devotion, very slightly annoyed that he thought Keiran was possibly going to kill himself with the skill, and curious as to why Kiba had brought this up now.

"... My mum," Kiba said, after a moment, as if he could read Keiran's thoughts, "she killed herself with that skill... Saving my dad and their friends." His voice was low, pained, and slightly bitter.

_Oh,_ Keiran thought, _and that explains that. What do I say..? _"I'm sorry..." He had never understood why people said that... What were they sorry about? And now he'd said it too.

Kiba sighed and looked skyward.

Keiran ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do or say.

"Anyway!" Kiba said sharply; Keiran jumped. "When you're a Crusader, you can get hurt as much as you like, 'cause you'll be able to heal yourself."

"Save someone a job." Keiran agreed with an uncertain smile.

Kiba grinned over his shoulder and the mood was instantly lightened.

There was the sudden sound of bushes being trampled, and Keiran looked around to see the Paladins emerging from the flower forest, both grinning.

"Got it!" Bell exclaimed. "It was pretty near-death anyway, you guys did well." Beside her, Jak nodded encouragingly; behind them, her pet Incubus pulled the petals off a white flower and popped them one-by-one into his mouth.

"Time for home?" Jak asked, pulling a pocket watch out and examining it. "Oh, yes, very much so." She jumped down from her peco. "All aboard!"

"Oi Jak! You take the tall one this time." Bell said, her hand against Keiran's chest to prevent him from mounting her pecopeco.

Jak pulled a face, eyeing Keiran up. "Alright then."

Watched all the while by the curious Incubus, the swordsmen were helped onto the pecos and the Paladins hopped easily on behind, and they turned for home.

"What're you going to call him?" Keiran asked, as they neared the castle. He had been watching the Incubus for nearly the whole ride as the pet trotted tirelessly beside the pecos, occasionally making a whiney noise when he was hungry.

Keiran's question sparked a debate between the two women that lasted until they were in the Guild gates and they had all dismounted; it was as the boys said thank you and goodbye that Jak suddenly had an idea. Bell laughed and told her it was a stupid name, right guys?

The swordsmen looked at the Incubus; he grinned. The boys exchanged a glance and shrugged.

Jak took that as a no to Bell's question, and smiled at her newly named pet.

Periwinkle the incubus just gave a throaty chuckle and ate another flower.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

"Crusaders!" Kuronosu called.

Silence fell immediately over the hall and the occupants all sat up a little straighter. Keiran craned his neck to see to the table at the front of the hall which had been set perpendicular to the normal benches. Here were seated many Paladins Keiran had never seen before, and few he recognised from the exams; all, he could tell now, were Guild members who had moved on. Scattered amongst these people's armour-clad forms, and looking out of place, were a handful of men and women wearing suits.

"Good evening to you all and an especially warm welcome to our guests." Kuronosu swept his hand along the head table at which he was also seated, and started clapping; the guild clapped enthusiastically along with him for their guests, making it clear they were welcome. When the noise subsided, Kuronosu nodded and took his seat, and the weatherworn Paladin sitting beside him stood up, clearing his throat, and began in a clear voice:

"Thank you, Sir Kuronosu, and God bless, for this opportunity - to revisit the castle, to see old friends, and new faces" he beamed down at the swordsmen, "who may one day lead us all." Around him the other Paladins nodded in agreement. "We have come here today to witness the promotion of those who we believe have the strength, will, dedication, and _faith _to advance to the next stage of their training," he paused, then added somewhat grudgingly, "that is to say they scored over 90% overall in their exams. Do not be disheartened if you are not one of these few, as there will be plenty of opportunities for you to prove yourselves in the future." He smiled kindly. "Good luck to you all, and may God be with you, always."

As the Paladin sat down while the guild clapped, Kuronosu glanced around at the others, and half-stood, when suddenly a lithe female Paladin jumped to her feet. Kuronosu sat down again, smiling.

"I just wanted to say!" she called, not even waiting for quiet. "I thought you guys all did really, really well! And um... I really enjoyed being an examiner! Er, pallies for the win! God bless!" To a chorus of whistles, cheers and clapping, the Paladin sat down, grinning from ear to ear.

Chuckling, Kuronosu got to his feet again. "Well then, shall we begin?" He turned to the Paladin beside him, and the man nodded, standing and moving to the front of the two long tables at which the guild was seated, all waiting nervously.

"I'll ask that if your name is called, please come up and claim your letter of promotion from Lord Methven, and then return to your seat." Kuronosu explained. "We will hand out individual results at the end."

_Like prize giving at school, only a lot more important..._ Keiran thought as he fidgeted in his seat. He was excited and nervous even though he still was convinced he wouldn't wake up tomorrow a Crusader. Would anybody..? He looked around at his classmates. What would happen if they did?

"Let's meet our new Paladins first, shall we?" Kuronosu said. "Please give them a warm welcome." He unfurled a scroll and cleared his throat, "first up! Anita Morgan!"

The Crusader-now-Paladin named Anita Morgan squealed, clasped hands with her friends, and practically ran to collect her letter, shaking hands with the Paladin and gushing a thank you as her guild cheered for her.

"Aozawa Reito!" Kuronosu called before Anita had reached her seat.

A haughty-looking Crusader dragged himself to his feet, a half-smirk on his face as he strode forwards.

There were a total of twenty-seven new Paladins, and from what Keiran saw, no two were the same in how they responded to their promotion, but they did all had one thing in common – they were all smiling when they were given that letter. And no surprise, some of them could have been working for that for _years._

When Kuronosu finally stopped calling names, just under an hour later, Keiran straightened, the nerves that had settled during his first readings rekindled with new passion. He tried telling himself he was nervous for the others, not himself, but it wasn't working.

"Welcome, Paladins." Kuronosu smiled around at them. "And now, our single, very talented new Crusader," he took a dramatic pause, in which Keiran's heart skipped a beat, and his mind registered the word 'single' and had enough time to think '_it's_ _Darius', _before Kuronosu finished, "Natalie Weatherstone!"

The swordsmen all turned to look at Natalie; she looked like she had just been hit in the face. And then her pale cheeks grew rosy and her yellow eyes sparkled as she grinned, and the others snapped out of their trances to congratulate her as she got to her feet. Keiran beamed and clapped along with everyone, trying to ignore the disappointment that was swirling in his gut.

Natalie shook hands with Lord Methven and took her letter, then returned to her seat, her black plait swishing behind her.

"Congratulations, everyone." Kuronosu said, placing his scroll down on the tabletop. "And now, if you will remain seated, we will hand out your results for your exams. You may choose to read these over dinner or wait until later. If you have any questions regarding the format of the results or any concerns, please come see me later. Please, enjoy the meal that our chefs have worked so hard to prepare for you, God bless."

Keiran turned away from Kuronosu as there was a clanking of armour behind him, and he turned to see the Paladin that had been Keiran's duel partner during the exam carrying a stack of large envelopes. He caught Keiran's eye and nodded, a slight smile on his lips as he handed Keiran the topmost envelope.

As Sir Jeremiah read out the names of his classmates and gave them their results, Keiran gazed at the front of his. His name was written across the front in a neat, linked script; he wondered briefly who that hand belonged to before slitting his envelope open with his knife, his heart beating quickly with anticipation.

Pulling out the contents, Keiran scanned the front page:

**_Written: _**_100%_

**_Melee: _**_92%_

**_Skills: _**_63% _

**_Overall: _**_85%_

**_Comments: _**_Very well done, Keiran! Next time you'll be a Crusader for sure! :D _

_ S . Hodge_

Keiran stared. Five points... Five points! Just five tiny points more and he could have been a Crusader... It irritated him to see that 63% under two such high percents. He knew he should be extremely pleased with his results, and he was, to some extent, but he was annoyed at himself for having been knocked out during the last part of the exam and that was stopping him being excited. He sighed, and the noise attracted Darius' attention.

"How did you go?" he asked curiously, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

Keiran silently passed his paper across.

"85%! That's brilliant, Keiran!"

Keiran grunted in reply. "What did you get?"

He found himself looking at Darius' result page, which read:

**_Written: _**_93%_

**_Melee: _**_92%_

**_Skills: _**_82% _

**_Overall: _**_89%_

**_Comments: _**_Simply amazing, Darius. A shame that a few simple mistakes let you down in the end. Have a look over the test for next time. Very nicely done indeed..._

_M . Y . Raphael _

"And a 100%... Goodness..." Darius murmured, now flicking through the rest of the sheets which Keiran hadn't even looked at yet.

"89%." Keiran said flatly. Then he slapped himself mentally, he was being stupid! Cheer up already, it's not the end of the world! "Wow, well done."

Darius smiled and handed Keiran his paper back. "You beat me, did you realise yet?"

Keiran looked at the two papers he was holding and compared the results. "... Hey, I did too!"

"See, I knew you could do it if you put your mind to it." Darius patted him on the back. "You should read the reports on your melee and skill exams."

Leaning over so that a Crusader could place a plate of steaming veggies in the middle of the table, Keiran flicked through the rest of his papers. There was a lot to read. But before that...

"Saph?" Keiran shuffled closer to her, trying to read her results over her shoulder; she pressed them against her chest.

"Mm?"

"What'd you get?" he muttered softly.

"You first."

"Aw..."

"I won't tell you unless you tell me first."

Keiran pouted. "...85%"

"Well done!" she exclaimed, turning to look at him.

He smiled softly and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"79%." she muttered, looking away.

"Why are you looking so upset?" Keiran asked, pulling her into a hug. "That's a great mark!"

She snuggled against him. "Oh I don't know, I guess I just thought I'd do better."

"You did better than me." Astarte observed from the other side of the table. "I got 76%." She didn't seem bothered by this at all and was smiling as she piled food onto her plate.

"There you go, you see?" Keiran said, rubbing Saphira's back. "Nothing to worry about."

"Hah I beat you!" Kiba exclaimed at Astarte; she brandished a steaming potato on a fork and he toned it down a notch, "I got 77%."

"Oh whoop-de-fucking-doo. One more percent." Astarte snorted, and her next derogatory comment was lost in a mouthful of potato.

Kiba muttered something under his breath and Astarte deemed it wiser to ignore him than to start throwing vegetables across the room.

With a combination of eavesdropping and interrogation, Keiran managed to find out all his friend's results, and was cheered to discover his mark was one of the highest. ("Well duh" said Kiba.) The average grade was around 70%.

With his mark of 47%, Shiz was the only one person who had actually _failed_, and he wasn't taking it very well, or hadn't been until Chris (61%) had cheered him up by saying something probably nasty and unwelcome about someone else in an undertone, and they proceeded to ignore everyone else after that. _Good_, thought Keiran, _it's much better that way..._

The top grade, of course, went to Natalie – she had scored an amazing 97%. How, Keiran didn't know, but then he didn't know much about her really... He considered her over his glass of lemonade. She was from Morroc, had dark hair and bright yellow eyes, and she was quiet, studious, rather shy, and _apparently _extremely talented as a swordswoman. He wondered what would happen now – would they still see her now that she was a Crusader? Or would she find new friends and forget her former-classmates? And what about rooms? Did she have to move to the next floor up and leave Chakii in a room by herself? It was all a mystery...

The other swordsmen's marks had ranged between 60 and 80 percent and most were pleased. Yule wasn't, and was shooting very sharp glares at the head table – she had been given a 60% on her melee exam and it had dragged her total down to 71%. Keiran thought this to be a little odd considering she had won all three rounds in her duel. And she had looked very pleased with herself afterwards. If Keiran's earlier suspicions about what _else _she had got up to then were right… _she can't have been that good a lay. _He spent a few minutes sniggering at her expense.

Keiran knew better than to be surprised when Arthur finally shared his results with the group – he was starting to get used to these unexpected things that Arthur did or said. This time he said had been given a cheerful comment from one of the examiners and a nice big 80%. Only not in those words. Keiran gaped at him until he blushed.

"I didn't do as well as I should have..." he muttered, scowling at his paper.

"..." said Blank (68%), "Is this about your bloody dad again?"

Arthur jumped and, after making sure there was a safe distance, and a person, between himself and Blank, shot him a nervous glance. "Um. Yes, I guess so."

"Didn't we just, fuckin', tell ya to start living your own damn life?" Blank wasn't even looking at Arthur, and appeared to be talking half to Match's arm (82%) and half to an offending piece of cabbage (?%).

"Uh... But he's-"

"An ass-wipe and it doesn't matter what the fuck he says."

Arthur stared at Blank, his blue eyes wide.

"What Blank means to say," Darius offered, shooting a slight frown at the blonde boy, "is that 80% is a very high mark, and you should be proud of it."

"I don't think that's what I meant." Blank said. "I-"

"Be quiet." Match suggested softly; Blank did so, if somewhat reluctantly.

"Speaking of which though," said Keiran, as Arthur turned to answer a question Chaku (74%) had directed at him, "Darius, isn't your dad gonna go nuts?" Keiran could imagine the look on Lord Ishikawa's face when he discovered his precious heir had been one point off becoming a Crusader, and due to apparently 'silly' reasons. He just hoped it wasn't someone nice that had to tell him...

Darius looked consideringly at his test papers for a moment, "I guess... I guess we'll have to wait and see."

He didn't look remotely worried about confronting his father still a Swordsman, if anything he looked a little excited about it. _Strange one, this Darius. _Keiran thought, _I wonder if he really did 'fail' on purpose..._ Either way, he was very glad he had, and that they would be able to take the test again together in half a year's time.

/\/\/\/\/\*/\/\/\/\/\/\*/\/\/\/\/\/\*/\/\/\/\/\


	23. Part 23: New Chapter

It seemed as if, with the end of the exams, time had gone suddenly onto fast-forward; August flew by and before they knew it, it was late-September and, as the leaves began to fall from the trees in the courtyard outside, Sir Kuronosu announced their joint training camp with the Knight swordsmen.

This Keiran was really looking forward to. He was dying to catch up with Alex and the others, and things had been rather monotonous around the Guild of Crusaders recently, so really, _anything _would be an improvement_._

With the murder of yet another first-class girl, Kuronosu had had no choice but to tighten his hold on the guild even further for their protection. Now, the Swordsmen and in-training Crusaders were not allowed out of the castle walls after dinner, and even during the day they had to be accompanied by a high-levelled Paladin. No exceptions and no excuses. It was tedious and frustrating for everyone, and as a result, most people had grudgingly resigned themselves to remaining inside the castle grounds at all times.

Keiran clearly remembered the morning of the 21st of August, when Kuronosu had made this most depressing announcement. Keiran had opened the newspaper only to see a photograph of the girl's body, covered with black plastic to shield whatever horrors lay beneath from the more sensitive viewers, blood seeping from beneath it in near-impossible amounts. He had stared at it in morbid fascination, wondering if people really have that much blood in them, and then began to read the article, glancing back at the picture occasionally.

The girl had been named Rosy; she had been 17 years old, and a merchant, not that the Creator had known that when he found her mutilated body in Morroc that morning – her uniform had been shredded beyond recognition and her upturned cart found several hours later, nowhere near the body.

There was still no evidence to tie any of the murders to the Assassin's Guild or one of their former members, and this in itself was causing a lot of chaos as people tried to _find_ the elusive Assassin's Guild to question their leader, convinced that they were the ones responsible. Assassins were being forced into the shadows completely as any who dared to show himself in public was attacked, either verbally or physically. Keiran would have felt sorry for them if he wasn't as certain as the rest of the population that the blame belonged with them.

The Assassins themselves had remained very silent on the matter, neither denying nor claiming responsibility, but they alone of all the guilds seemed not to be disturbed by it all. Even their brother guild, the Guild of Rogues, was putting safety measures in place for their younger members, which was, until now, unheard of in such a free spirited guild.

The merchant guilds, the Blacksmiths and the Alchemists, were in a panic – four of the eight girls that had been killed were merchants, and despite the sheer amount of guild members these guilds possessed and their reputations for only caring about the money they produced and not the members themselves, it was obvious that they _did_ care – Blacksmith Merchants were now forbidden from vending after 6pm, and the Alchemists were in the process of setting up something similar for their students.

Mostly, everyone was just hoping, wishing and praying that the whole ordeal would end soon so things could go back to normal...

Although, not that much had changed with this rule really – being unable to go to town whenever they felt like it was a pain, but it wasn't unbearable for the majority. Chris and Shiz had been some of the first to test out Kuronosu's new-found stringency within the week, when they were caught sneaking out through the laundry door one evening. Not only had they been given more choirs to do than one could humanly manage in a day, but Sir Kuronosu had been so upset that he had threatened to expel them from the guild if they put a foot out of line again. He had not been smiling when he said this, and when Shiz tried to protest, Kuronosu had shouted at him. Never had anyone heard Kuronosu's voice raised like that, and, despite the confrontation occurring in the Paladin's office, the story had spread quickly.

After that, only a small handful of rebellious individuals bothered to defy him, and those who were caught were warned, and if they failed to take the hint, were expelled. Some thought this was too strict, but as Darius pointed out, Kuronosu was responsible for them all while they were in his Guild, and if he set rules out for people's safety, they were expected to follow them – if someone _broke _these rules and was killed, it should be their own fault, not Kuronosu's. Selfish, some thought, he just doesn't want a guilty conscious. But Keiran thought Darius had a point – if they don't want to be protected, let them go do their own thing, let them run that risk of being killed.

But!

Not everything that had been happening was negative, thank God for that.

Keiran and Saphira's relationship had reached a sort of stable point, and they were coexisting harmoniously. As much as he still wanted to, and always would want to, Keiran had refrained from pressing her to do anything _she _didn't want to, mostly. They were sharing a bed for four nights out of seven now, just enjoying each other's company... Mostly. Once or twice Keiran had been a little over-zealous with his good-night kiss, but with her ... assistance, he had managed to avoid doing anything probably regrettable.

Their nights apart were for Astarte and Darius' benefit (and partially for Keiran's sanity), as it didn't seem very fair to them to leave them alone _all_ the time. During a sword mastery lesson one day Keiran had suggested they should just share a room too; Darius had blinked questioningly at him and Astarte had accidentally-on-purpose jabbed him in the groin with the hilt of her sword. He had left the matter alone after that.

An interesting development was that Kiba and Yule were also sharing a room (Keiran had resisted the very tempting urge to tell him why Yule had been so disappointed with her exam results); this became public when Chakii, having been ditched by Yule, was spotted moving her possessions into Chaku's room to take Natalie's place. If Kuronosu knew any of this had been happening he didn't have anything to say about it, which was taken to be a good thing.

Natalie had been moved up to the floor above with the rest of the Crusaders the day after her promotion, and was sorely missed by the other swordsmen. When she had had time off, she had come to visit her friends a couple of times, bringing tales of her experiences as a Crusader; although she brought these mainly for Chakii and Chaku, she gradually overcame her shyness and shared them with everyone. She made it sound like it was a whole different life to being a Swordsman; a far busier, more exciting, and significantly more dangerous life – what with the new life draining skills she was learning and the introduction of peco peco riding and handling lessons. Natalie hadn't been given her own peco yet, but she said she was close to having one accept her, and she was, understandably, very excited. Along with the other Swordsmen, who all felt very small in her newly-armoured presence, Keiran had listened to her stories eagerly, leaning forward in his seat, until she said with a slight frown;

"I have my first singing lesson tomorrow."

At that, everyone leaned away from her as if they might catch something nasty if they stayed too close.

"Singing." Kiba had said flatly.

"Yes. Gospel is a Paladin skill, but our instructor says we need to start practicing now."

"Fuck that." Blank commented.

After sniggering at the thought of Blank singing, Keiran seriously considered the idea of having singing lessons. He liked singing, so long as the song was upbeat and no one cared that he was loud and often off key, but he had a feeling that wasn't the type of singing that was expected of them. It would probably be more complicated Church hymns or something...

When everyone stopped complaining, Natalie had gone on to say that they also had Bible reading sessions three times a week, not including Church on Sunday, and had to perform in a Biblical play towards the end of the year. Much groaning had issued from her audience.

But that was in the future, and for now there was one thing on everyone's mind (okay, so that's a lie, there were several things on Keiran's mind, but that's not the point here), and that was the training trip with the Knights.

Kuronosu announced it at the end of a morning class – an adventure out into the fields and dungeons of Prontera for five full days, spending the four nights in tents in the wilderness, accompanied by all fourteen of the knight swordsmen and a handful of Lord Knights and Paladins.

"The plan," Kuronosu said, "is to spilt into two parties, and one will travel this way," He pointed to a snaky line running to the West on a large map of the Prontera area he had pinned to the board and trailed his finger along it, "while the other goes this way. Now as you can see, it's too far to walk in a single day, so we will be camping at the field borders, here, and here. Now, _here_," he jabbed at a red X, "is where we will regroup and set up camp. The following morning we head into Orc Dungeon. That night we'll camp in the same place, and on Thursday we'll head for home, taking the other party's path. Any questions so far?"

"I have one," Chris said, and continued, "how are the groups going to be chosen?"

"Ah. This year it's been suggested by someone, who I think would probably prefer to remain anonymous, that we divide you by gender." Kuronosu sat heavily on the edge of the desk, as if expecting to be there a while dealing with complaints. He wasn't disappointed, as there was an immediate chorus of '_what?'_

"And we're going to go with that, to see how it goes." He finished softly.

Keiran pulled a face. Separated from Saph for that long... It wasn't fair._ But then_, he shot a sidelong glance at Darius, who was sitting back in his chair with his hands folded in his lap, _it's been a while since I could go out and train with Darius... So maybe it won't be too bad. _Over the last month or so, Keiran had been pairing with Darius less and less during class in favour of Saphira. He felt awful for it, but she insisted, as did Darius. Not for the first time, Keiran wished he could see into Darius' head to know what he was _really _thinking every time Keiran was dragged away by his girlfriend. It was hard to even guess. Darius meanwhile had started pairing with Astarte, who was still managing to keep her crush on him secret, from him at least (but then Darius was blind when it came to relationships).

Maybe, during this trip, he'd be able to catch up on all the tough training he had missed by not duelling Darius... Saphira may be an excellent swordswoman, but she was nowhere near Darius' level, and Keiran spent most of their duels helping her rather than concentrating on improving his own technique. He didn't mind this but sometimes he would just have an overwhelming desire to spar all-out with someone, and the only other swordsman that could take it was Darius.

_Yeah, _Keiran decided, _this'll be a fun trip, girls or no. _

"Sir, why are we going to be gender-divided?" Chakii was asking.

"Urm." Kuronosu itched his chin. "There were some concerns that last year's trip didn't go as well as it could have, due to... males being too enthusiastic and-"

"Hogging all the monsters." Grobyc contributed helpfully. He had been seated at the back of the class, but for what reason no one knew. This had been the first time he had spoken.

"Yes-"

"And killstealing. So the girls weren't getting any experience."

"Exactly. Thank you." Kuronosu smiled softly; Grobyc saluted and crossed his legs the other way. "Does that answer your question?" he said to Chakii.

"Yes sir," she said after a moment, and sat back.

That did make sense. Female swordsmen (or maybe just females in general) were nowhere near as exuberant as the guys when it came to killing things, and did tend to miss out on a lot... And, with the knight swordies included, the number of males and females were equal (minus one on the girls' side for Natalie).

Oh well...

Keiran caught Saphira's eye and she grinned. _Oh good, she doesn't seem to be upset._ He grinned back.

"Okay, now, Orc Dungeon is an undead dungeon, as you know, and will be a very valuable training spot for you when you become Crusaders so take care to note as much about the monsters as you can while there. There will be a short test on them the day after we come home."

"'We'?" Keiran blurted before he could stop himself. Kuronosu looked at him curiously. "Sorry Sir, I mean, does that mean you're coming with us?"

Kuronosu smiled. "Unless you don't wish for me to, I am."

"Sweet." Keiran grinned. Behind him Chris snorted and whispered something with the word 'gay' in it to Shiz. Keiran really didn't care. He was glad Kuro would be one of their supervisors on this trip; their teacher had only been taking one of their classes a week recently 'for his sanity', as their substitute explained cheerfully, and they all missed his lax but productive teaching methods and the way he spent whole lessons sometimes recounting his own experiences. The new guy was funny, but very strict when it came to learning. ("STOP laughing and hold your shield the right way up, _damnit!_")

Their class must be a stressful bunch or something because, from shortly after Kuronosu had stopped taking their classes nearly every day, he was looking a little less strained and more like himself.

Their mission brief, as it were, ended on a cheerful note and they were all in good spirits for the five minutes it took to reach the dining hall, where the spirits promptly fell through the floor and they all sunk into a gloomy silence.

Lord Ishikawa Jin was sitting at the head of the table in all his golden splendour, his midnight blue hair pulled just as severely back as it had been nearly five months ago. Nothing seemed different about him, from the downward set of his mouth to the way everyone in his presence sat perfectly still and said very little; Sir Kuronosu, sitting on his right, resembled a statue, if a rather surprised statue.

_Oh my God I didn't cut my hair. _Keiran realised, still standing in the doorway with half of the other swordsmen. In fact, it was longer than ever now, tickling his collarbones in most places.

"I suggest you stay on your best behaviour this time around," Darius whispered in his ear as he pushed past, "if you want to see Alexander on the 28th."

"Shit." Keiran muttered, and made his way into the hall with Blank and Match. "Why is it he's always around when something big's happening?"

"To ground you, duh." Blank said, retying his ponytail tighter with a scowl.

"Yes, that must be it. He comes back solely to ruin my life..." He sat down at the table with a sigh. "'wonder how long he's staying this time."

"Who knows?"

"He does, I guess."

"Good afternoon everyone." Lord Ishikawa said, now standing with one hand lightly touching the table in front of him, his smile in place (Keiran was pretty confident now that it was fake, and that made it painful to look at him).

There was a mumble of 'good afternoon''s in reply, and the Guild Leader's smile widened slightly.

"I'm sure some of you will be wondering why I have so suddenly returned to you. The answer is simple: I felt that it was time to come home." With only the bare minimum of pauses he continued, "The Guild's affairs with the King and the Royal families have been settled for the meantime, and as such there is no reason for my absence to continue when there is so much to be done here.

I expect to stay to share Christmas with you, and if all goes well, into the New Year as well."

Keiran resisted the urge to groan. Until _Christmas? _How the hell was he going to pull this off? _Please, oh please, let him not be sitting in on lessons... _He glanced sideways and was surprised to see Darius was sitting straight as a poker in his seat, his face expressionless and chalk-white, his hands on his lap clenched into tight fists.

"Are you okay?" Keiran whispered cautiously.

Darius jumped, but made a remarkable recovery. "Ah. Yes, yes I'm fine." However, as Keiran watched, he fell into a blank state again, his eyes staring at nothing. He was clearly not fine. But Keiran wouldn't get anything out of him in Lord Ishikawa's presence – it was amazing he had got a reply at all.

Darius didn't do a thing throughout his father's speech ("Congratulations to those who became Paladins blah blah"), during grace or through lunch, only sat staring unseeingly at the empty plate in front of him, and, the second Lord Ishikawa stood to leave the table, Darius rushed to his side, catching up just as they reached the door. Keiran, still sitting at the table in astonishment, watched as Darius said something to his father and Lord Ishikawa frowned, glanced around and with a slight smile and a quick word to his entourage, took his son around the shoulders and lead him from the hall.

"Fuck, what's his crisis?" Blank asked, tugging his hair looser again.

"Dunno..." Keiran muttered, and then made a hasty decision. Abandoning his half finished sandwiches he pecked Saphira on cheek and darted after the Ishikawa's, then changed his mind, darted back, seized one of the sandwiches, stuffed it in his mouth and _then_ darted after the father and son.

By the time he had shoved through the Paladins milling around the door and got out into the hallway, they had gone, leaving no clues to even point him in the right direction. Keiran sagged in defeat and headed for the common room dejectedly. What _had _been Darius' crisis? It had been when he found out his dad was staying 'til Christmas that he had gone weird... What did that mean? Did Lord Ishikawa do something really crazy at Christmas? Maybe he didn't like Christmas and would ban it? ... okay no, that was stupid. Lord Ishikawa would at least celebrate it as Jesus' birthday, as pious as he was (or _pretended _to be?).

_Enough with that sort of thinking. _He told himself forcefully. _Lord Ishikawa is your Guild Leader- you should respect him and stay loyal to him even if he doesn't particularly like you. Or hates you, whatever._

"Keiran-_kun."_

Keiran flinched (he'd already come to associate the '_kun' _suffix on his name with impending doom)_, _and slowly turned around, folding into a bow as he did so. "My Lord." He wondered briefly why he was on the Swordsmen's floor, but shoved that thought aside quickly, looking at the Paladin's feet.

Lord Ishikawa's pointy boots were just as shiny as ever, and today they were joined by another pair of boots that were nowhere near as flash and looked rather like his own. _Ah, so Darius is here too... Wonderful._

"I've had the opportunity to go over the results for your exams..." Lord Ishikawa said slowly. Keiran could feel his gaze on the top of his head as he watched the not-so-shiny boots shift their weight from one foot to the other and back again. "I was impressed with your results in the written and melee parts."

Keiran got the feeling he hadn't finished speaking yet, but the pause he was taking was a little too long. "Thank you, my Lord."

"_However_," he said with such force that Keiran risked looking up; the Paladin's face was strangely neutral, and only the low set of his eyebrows betrayed his distaste for Keiran. Behind him, Darius was chewing his lip. "Your skill results were appalling in comparison. Why is that?"

_Obviously he can't have gone over the tests that well then. _Keiran thought. All of the details were written right there. ...Actually, from what little Keiran knew of Lord Ishikawa, he probably _had_ read it and just wanted Keiran to feel the shame of being knocked out all over again. Unfortunately for Jin, Keiran was way over that by now._ Haha._

"I was poisoned and knocked unconscious shortly after the test began, my Lord." Keiran told his feet confidently. He would not let Lord Ishikawa intimidate him. He would remain polite. He would not get angry. These things he repeated in his head like a mantra. He was _not _going to get grounded a week before the training camp.

"Stand up straight."

Keiran did so, wiping the smile from his face and replacing it with his best poker face. He kept his eyes fixed on the point of the Paladin's breast plate, roundabouts where his heart was (or would be if he had one). Out of the corner of his eye he could see Darius watching him anxiously, obviously expecting things to turn ugly. Keiran was relieved to see he looked nearly normal again, although his face was still a little pale.

"Do you know why you were knocked unconscious?" Lord Ishikawa said, his black eyes scanning Keiran's face.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Why it that?"

_Is that his favourite question or something?_ "Because I was overwhelmed, my Lord."

"Did you not think to use your Magnum Break skill?"

"My Lord, I haven't mastered that skill yet." Keiran replied flatly. His determination not to lose his cool was cracking. Why was he being targeted like this? "It proved unsuccessful during the exam."

"Why is that?"

Keiran glanced up. "Why-?"

Lord Ishikawa's eyes gleamed dangerously and Keiran knew he had lost whatever battle they were raging here. "Yes, why were you unable to perform Magnum Break successfully?"

"Because..." Keiran thought about it. Why did he fail so hard at Magnum Break? Even now he was still lagging behind the others in that class... That he just couldn't use that skill wasn't going to be an acceptable answer though. What would be? "Because I... I didn't train hard enough" he said, his voice dropping to a mere mutter in his defeat.

Lord Ishikawa too knew he had won. Had there ever been a competition in the first place? He asked, with a slight nasty smile playing around his lips, "why not?"

Keiran started. He knew very well why not! _Somebody went and restricted the times and places I could practice! Somebody big and golden and standing right in front of me!_

_Can't get angry. Can't get angry..._ He told himself. _Stop, think, then act. THINK._

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, Jin was nearly smiling openly, watching Keiran struggling to control himself with apparent amusement. _WHY? Why are you doing this to me? _What was he supposed to say – that he hadn't organised his time properly? That was a lie – he had organised his time extremely well considering the restraints he had upon him, no one could deny that. He wasn't going to lie about himself for this heartless Lord's entertainment!

He scowled, and Lord Ishikawa's eyebrows rose.

"_Why not_, Keiran-_kun?_"

"Stop it!" Darius cried, stepping suddenly between his father and Keiran before he could react. His back in front of Keiran was shaking. "STOP."

Lord Ishikawa stared at him, momentarily stunned. Then he face contorted with anger. "Get out of my way." he hissed.

"No." Darius straightened up, drawing confidence from somewhere. "I know what you're doing. I don't care if you yell at me, but don't take it out on my friend."

Keiran stared at the back of Darius' head in disbelief. Darius was throwing everything away to stick up for him; his masquerade as the perfect heir was scattered, his friendship with Keiran revealed. He was touched he would go so far for him, but was it really worth it? Darius obviously thought so.

"_Friend_." Lord Ishikawa spat the word. "You would call him _friend_ even though-"

"It is not through any fault of Keiran's that I remained a swordsman, _Father_." Darius interrupted forcefully.

Lord Ishikawa's lip twitched and he fixed his eagle-like glare on Keiran before turning back to his son; he then began speaking in rapid Japanese, his eyes locked on Darius'. Occasionally he would jerk his head in what Keiran took to be a disgusted manner, or would point at him angrily during a particularly violent gesticulation.

Darius stood perfectly still before him. Once or twice he started to say something, but his father would override him simply by increasing the volume of his voice. Slowly, Darius' head began to droop and he dropped his gaze to his feet. "_Hai..." _he said as his father continued talking. The Paladin didn't seem quite so angry now, but extremely determined to make something clear.

Then he said something that made Darius look up sharply.

"No! No you can't-!" he cried.

"I can, and I will." Lord Ishikawa said coolly, casting his eyes back to Keiran who was hovering in the background wondering what the hell they were talking about. "Keep in mind what I've told you and it won't come about."

"Why are you doing this? It's ridiculous! You're being ch-" Darius caught himself before he said anything possibly life-threatening and returned his eyes to the ground.

"I'm being _what, _exactly?"

Darius stayed silent.

"You have just proved me right." Lord Ishikawa said in a low and dangerous voice and, gripping Darius firmly by the shoulder, he spoke one sentence in Japanese. Then he spun on his heel and marched away down the corridor.

Darius didn't move. He remained exactly where he was, trembling.

"Darius..?" Keiran said hesitantly, moving to his friend's side. He wasn't entirely sure what that had been about, only that he was involved and Darius was probably in a lot of trouble because of him. And that was bad. Very bad.

When Darius looked at him, his face was just as pale as it had been over lunch. "He hates you, he really does."

Despite already knowing this, the words made Keiran unhappy. He hadn't had anyone outright hate him before, to his knowledge. But now wasn't the time for worrying about his self-esteem.

"I don't know why he treats you like that..."

Keiran said the first thing that came to mind. "Maybe in a past life or something I kicked his arse and this is all just payback for that."

Darius stared at him.

"Wait, wrong religion. Scratch that!"

Giving a reluctant chuckle, Darius straightened up and sighed.

"But wow, man," Keiran said "why the hell did you do that?"

"I... I couldn't just stand there and watch him do that to you. He was _trying _to get you to snap at him, so he could have an excuse to punish you for..." he trailed off.

"For what? Teaching you how to be rude?"

"No." Darius shook his head. "He's blaming you for my 'low' grade in the exams."

"But... That _was_ kinda my fault... wasn't it?" Keiran said slowly, slouching against the wall. "We all know you could have easily got full marks. So..."

"Yes, I could have, but I didn't want to. There was no need for me to rush to become a Crusader only- Oh!" A look of understanding appeared on his face. "Of _course._"

"Eh?"

"He _wanted_ me to advance this time so I would be separated from you. He expected you not to achieve 90%... Was it all planned out..?" Darius muttered, his expression pensive.

"Aren't you over thinking that a little?" Keiran asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're saying that, because he didn't like me from day one, he deliberately set everything – me getting smacked in the face - up so I'd be grounded before the exam and therefore unable to become a Crusader with you?"

Darius looked at him, and smiled. "Okay, when you put it like that it does sound a bit extreme."

Keiran snorted and they descended into silence for a few moments.

"So... What was he yelling about?"

"He threatened to withdraw me from the Guild-" Darius said after a minute.

"WHAT!"

"He was saying how my friends are a bad influence on me – you, especially – and if he doesn't see any improvement from me he'll split us up, and if that didn't work... he would send me back to Amatsu."

"Is he sane? How would sending you to Amatsu help you become a Crusader?"

"He would find a tutor."

"That's crazy shit." Keiran said in disbelief. "Why's he going so far with this? It's me he has the problem with isn't it?

"He has more control over me than over you." Darius sighed hugely. "I wish he would stop interfering. It's getting tiresome."

_You've changed..._ Keiran realised suddenly. _Your attitude towards your dad is different... _It was as if he was no longer willing to follow his father's every command loyally regardless of what his own opinion was on the matter, as he had done previously. Keiran wondered of that was through his doing too, and hoped Darius wouldn't fall out with his father completely because of it.

And they had to deal with him until Christmas... Urrgh.

"Which reminds me, what was the deal at lunch?" Keiran asked.

After staring blankly at the wall opposite for a very long time, Darius slumped beside Keiran and buried his face in his hand. "When Father said he was staying until Christmas... I thought... I thought that it meant that my mother had succumbed to her illness."

Keiran froze.

"She's dying, Keiran. There's nothing more they can do for her."

A wave of dread tore through him and he was left feeling empty, his heart going out to Darius and his brother, even to their father. He didn't know what to say, but squeezed his friend's shoulder gently. Darius lifted his head from his hand at the gesture and looked at him, his eyes pained, but dry.

"… How long..?" Keiran said, in a near whisper.

Darius' eyebrows contracted in anguish and he looked away again. "Christmas."

"Aw hell…"

"I don't know what to do."

Keiran shook his head - he didn't know either. His best friend's mother was dying – how was he supposed to act? Should he be sympathetic and comforting or try to cheer him up or _what_? And what would happen now? Would Darius go back to Amatsu anyway to spend time with her while he still could? ...And what about Lord Ishikawa? Why had he come back _now_ when he should be at his wife's side?

"Father plans to see to all the Guild matters now, before she- before she goes, so when she does he won't have to- so he can mourn... in peace. He'll go back to Amatsu when the priests think she's near... to be by her side." Darius said unsteadily, as if reading Keiran's thoughts. "I think he wants me to do the same. But..." he groaned softly. "I've known for so long she was going to die _soon_, but no one ever put a date on it. I thought I was prepared..." With a sigh he heaved himself upright. "I guess I was wrong."

Keiran watched him carefully. How awful... This was presumably what Darius had learnt from his father after lunch, and yet he had still found it in himself to not only defend Keiran, but stand up to his father. Keiran wasn't sure he would have the strength to be able to handle Lord Ishikawa if he found out his mother had three months left to live. Darius really was an amazing person...

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'm here for you, kay?" he said eventually.

Darius looked at him, his expression grateful. "Thank you..."

"No, thank you." Keiran smiled softly, "For telling me."

"Why would I not tell you?" he looked faintly alarmed.

Keiran snorted, then shot Darius a grin. "You never tell me anything."

"I do so." Darius laughed uncertainly.

"Do not."

"We've had this conversation."

"I know."

Darius rolled his eyes, and Keiran heaved himself up from the wall, draping his arm around Darius' shoulders.

"You just don't want to lose again." Keiran said.

"Did I lose last time?"

"Of course. No one can beat me – I'm invincible!"

Darius sighed dramatically and made to duck out from under Keiran's arm, just as Blank came around the corner. He froze, staring at them. Darius had ended up facing Keiran when he'd tightened his hold to prevent him escaping, and had one hand lightly against Keiran's chest to keep his balance.

"I was right! I fucking knew it!" Blank crowed happily. Keiran face-palmed and Darius, after stepping out of Keiran's reach, looked between the pair of them in confusion.

"Blank..." Keiran said exasperatedly.

"Just wait 'til I tell Saph - she was going nuts." Blank sneered. "No bloody wonder you're not in class, Jesus."

"Class?" Darius exclaimed.

"Yeah, you guys are like 20 minutes late."

"So what, you got sent to find us?" Keiran said dryly.

"Nah, I'm going for a piss."

"Two floors up?"

"Yeah?"

With an extremely impatient Darius nearly jumping up and down in the background repeating 'hurry, hurry', Keiran didn't get to ask what Blank had against the ground floor bathroom, and was whisked off to class.

Their teacher for the class today hadn't been impressed when they rushed into the courtyard, interrupting her demonstration of a level 10 provoke, but when she had held them back at the end of class and demanded an explanation, her attitude had changed completely. Darius had told her, in a surprisingly steady voice, that he had just found out his mother was dying and he had been too upset to come straight to class, and Keiran had been comforting him. The Paladin forgave them immediately and let them go with no punishment and her condolences.

"So, you makin' a move on Darius now?" Blank said, dropping back to walk with him up to the common room afterwards. He was leering, as per normal.

Keiran gave him a withering look. "I was not making a move. You just happened to walk in at a bad time, as usual."

"You look pretty damn good together, ya know."

"Shut up."

Blank gave a throaty chuckle, slapped Keiran on the back and disappeared off down a different corridor.

_Gah he's interfering... _Keiran thought, scowling after him.

"KEIRAAAAAAAAAN!"

With a sigh, Keiran turned around. _If this is how popular I am now, what's it going to be like when I'm a Paladin and a teacher and the whole guild knows who I am? Will I be able to walk down the hall without someone talking to me? Ever? _

He was suddenly seized around the torso and found himself pressed against a chest. A male chest, going by the flatness, tidily muscled. And the smell of said (half-bare) chest was male too, but not quite. It was hard to pinpoint. A lock of blonde hair tickled his face, and he blew it out of the way.

"Keiraaan!" said he.

"Um, hi." Keiran said. He tried to prise the man off his person, but they proved to be extremely strong, and reluctant to let go... Who the hell did he know that was that much taller than him and had blonde hair? Blank? HAHA no. "Er, could you let go?"

"No." he trilled.

"Okay..." Keiran sighed. At least he had nothing against hugs and randoms invading his personal space and was quite content to stand there all afternoon (until Blank came along and accused him of cheating on Darius), but he very much would like to know who it was that was doing so.

The voice wasn't familiar to him, and seemed kind of childish in the way he said his name, but they also _did_ know his name – not that that meant anything. So who..?

"Peri!" a female voice called. That one was familiar.

The arms around Keiran's shoulders slackened and he gratefully unstuck his face from the man's chest. Rubbing at his cheek, he stepped back and observed his would-be captor. The horns poking through his hair and the predominately leather clothing gave it away – it was Periwinkle, the pet Incubus.

"Peri?" the voice called again.

"Massster!" Periwinkle cried happily, darting away down the hall. This would have made Keiran very happy, if only the pet hadn't seized his hand at the last second, dragging him along after him.

"Massster! I found Keiraaaan!" Periwinkle exclaimed proudly as he finally skidded to a halt, literally picking Keiran up and setting him down squarely in front of him.

"... Hello." Keiran said to the Paladin standing before him. With the Incubus holding onto his shoulders firmly, he didn't have much option but to stay exactly where he was.

"Hi?" Jak blinked at him for a moment and then frowned up at her pet. "Periwinkle! What did I tell you about abducting people?"

The hands on Keiran's shoulders loosened and Keiran glanced up to see the smile slip straight off the Incubus' handsome face; his pointy ears drooping sadly. "That it isss naughty?"

"Yes! It's very naughty!" Jak scolded, taking Keiran by the arm and leading him off down the hall. "I'm so sorry about him. He didn't do any damage?"

"No I'm fine." Keiran replied bemusedly, watching Periwinkle trail after them with his eyes downcast and his purple wings carried lower than usual. "Does he do that often?"

"Oh yes, all the time." she said breezily. "Periwinkle, keep up please."

"Yess Masster... " Periwinkle jogged to catch up, then fell back to his despondent plod.

"When did he learn to talk?" Keiran asked.

"Oh, all pets talk when they're loyal."

_That didn't really answer my question._ He thought, but as she seemed rather distracted, he didn't push the matter.

"Masster?" the Incubus called nervously. "Massster, am I bad?"

"Yes, you are." Jak said without pausing her march down the corridor. Keiran wondered where she was going in such a hurry, and if she'd mind if he left her to it – he had things to be doing! (or not)

Periwinkle wilted.

"Jak, Jak! He's coming! _Hurry!" _Bell hissed. The other female Paladin was crouched at a corner, peering around it, though what she was looking at, Keiran didn't know. When she saw her friend coming she had stood up, tugging her armour straight and adjusting her cape. She looked very excited about something.

Jak peered around the corner and quickly pulled back with a gasp, spinning around to face her friend. "He's coming!"

"I know!" Bell clapped her hands together excitedly.

"..." said Keiran. He had no idea what they were talking about. At all. And so he stood beside the dejected Incubus, considering how best to make his exit.

A moment later he wished he had considered faster, as Lord Ishikawa Jin rounded the corner, followed loyally by a number of older Paladins. Bell and Jak immediately flung themselves into the most perfect identical bows Keiran had ever seen (had they been practicing?) and chorused, "Good afternoon, my Lord." Keiran followed suit, although deemed it safer to stay silent.

"Good afternoon, Isabelle, Jackie." The Lord said pleasantly. "I enjoyed viewing your riding practice this morning. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, my Lord." the girls gushed in unison, bowing deeper still.

Lord Ishikawa and company continued on their way, completely ignoring Keiran, for which he was grateful – one confrontation a day was more than enough.

When he was completely out of sight, the girls broke into excited giggles. Keiran recognised this behaviour, and he translated it as 'omigosh he's so hot'. How this could apply to Jin Ishikawa, Keiran didn't understand, so he decided not to even try and turned to the Incubus, who at least was male and less inclined to giggle over a man twice his age. The poor thing looked so miserable Keiran couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Periwinkle?" he said, feeling only very slightly strange for talking to a monster like it were a person. The Incubus lifted his head and fixed his scarlet eyes on Keiran's. Unlike many people, he didn't seem to be afraid to hold eye contact, and it was Keiran who looked away first. "Are you okay?"

Periwinkle said nothing, but continued to look at him. Then, "Keiraan... I wasss bad to you?"

"Oh." Keiran ran a hand through his hair. "Er no? I don't think so?"

The Incubus' ears pricked again. "I wasss not bad?"

"No?"

He grinned happily and leaning forward, kissed Keiran on the cheek. The first thing Keiran did in response to this was think '_if Lord Ishikawa saw that I'd be dead'. _After that he thought, '_if Saphira saw that I'd be dead'._ And then, '_if _Blank_ saw that I'd be dead too'. _With these thoughts out of the way, Keiran raised a hand and touched the spot dazedly as the Incubus beamed at him.

"Err..." Keiran said. _I just got kissed by a monster. A monster that looks a hell of lot like Blank... if Blank wore leather undies and thigh high boots. Ew bad imagery._

"I love yoooou." Periwinkle sang blissfully.

Keiran stared. "Okay, Jak..? Your Incubus is starting to scare me."

Jackie broke off her giddy conversation with Bell and looked at them. "What did he do?"

Under her fierce _look _Periwinkle returned his gaze to his feet.

"He just said he er, loves me," said Keiran, raising an eyebrow.

"Did he kiss you too?" Bell asked; she was grinning.

"Yes, actually."

"_Damn!_ How did I miss that?" Bell sagged in disappointment. "Hey Peri, wanna kiss Keiran again for me?"

"Yesss Missss." Periwinkle said, his fangs making his S's more pronounced; he nodded and moved closer to Keiran again. Keiran leapt out of the way with his hands raised.

"No kissing, thanks." he said hastily. "I have a girlfriend, and I don't want to get in trouble."

"Psh." Bell rolled her eyes. "So anyway, how've you been?"

"Fine. You?"

"Fine."

Standing beside Bell, Keiran watched Periwinkle looking at his reflection in a window. He seemed fascinated by it and would touch his own face and then the reflections', then he would smile and look around to see if anyone was watching.

Bell raised an eyebrow at him. "We're trying to encourage him to be vainer," she offered, by way of explanation. "As far as Incubi go, he's got the smallest ego of the lot."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Keiran asked. Periwinkle fished a tiny hairbrush out from somewhere and began brushing his hair, gazing at his reflection all the while.

"Jak wants him to be '_normal'_." Bell snorted, as if this idea seemed outrageous to her.

"If I wanted a pet who acts like a child I would have got a desert wolf puppy or something." Jak said defensively.

"He just needs more training." Bell waved her hand. "But here, check this out - he's really smart, I'm teaching him Japanese – Periwinkle, attention here!"

Periwinkle tucked his hairbrush away again and turned to face Bell, flicking his hair over his shoulder. "Yesss Misss?"

"Tell Keiran you love him, in Japanese." Bell said with a grin as Keiran protested.

The Incubus looked at Keiran with a most adoring expression. "_aisssshiteiru."_

"..." Keiran replied.

"Isn't he wonderful?" Bell patted him on the chest fondly. He beamed.

"Why Japanese?"

"Why not?" The Paladin grinned.

Keiran had a feeling it had something to do with Lord Ishikawa also being Japanese.

"Oh, I got a letter from Kitsuka this morning," Bell said.

As Keiran didn't know 'Kitsuka' he felt it was safe to assume that she was not talking to him and tried to sidle away.

"Keiraan, are you going?" Periwinkle asked, his head tilted to one side curiously.

"Er yeah, I have, er, stuff to do."

"Byebye," the Incubus said cheerfully, and before Keiran could react, he found himself against the pet's chest again.

"Bye Periwinkle." Keiran said, patting him uncomfortably on the back until he was finally released from the vice-like grip and, before he could be kissed again and subsequently grounded for 'relations with a pet', made a hasty dash for freedom.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

And I'm afraid that's the last chapter for now. I've lost interest in RO completely, and unfortunately that makes it very hard to write this. Don't worry though; my obsessions tend to rotate, so it's only a matter of time before I'll be writing again. It just might be a long wait…

Please note this does not mean I've given up writing. It's just ON HOLD till a later date.

Very sorry about this, really. Believe me, I want to keep writing it as much as you probably want to keep reading, but yeah, it's just not happening.

So for now, thanks for the support, take care and have a good 2011. :D


End file.
